


The Forgotten Child

by AmaryllisFay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Abuse, Creature Inheritance, Depression, F/M, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-23 12:32:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2547608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaryllisFay/pseuds/AmaryllisFay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is the long lost child of Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy. After an epic final battle, the two regain the knowledge of their missing son, and they seek to build a relationship after all these years of separation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Forgotten Child

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK Rowling’s works. I wish I did, but alas, some things were not meant to be…

Warnings: This story contains self-harming, if this is a trigger for you please do not read. This will also have relationships between two men, if you have a problem with this then don’t read the story.  
Ron Weasley and Albus Dumbledore bashing.

Prologue

It was over. It was finally over. The war which had ravaged the lives of countless innocents and that had ruined my life was over. I could now go home and try to make sense of the shambles, which was currently my life.  
As I stood there starring at the corpse of yet another Death Eater I shivered, thanking my lucky stars that it wasn’t me or my husband in it’s place.  
It had ended in a mass of exploding lights. The boy, Potter glaring at the Dark Lord, shouting out in anger at the monster that had ruined his life. A ferocious duel had ensued, coming to a close with the anguished shrieks of the snake-faced monster himself. It took a while for most of the spectators to comprehend what had happened, they stood in silence, looking on in shock at the boy-this small scrawny teenager- that had fulfilled all their deepest wishes. They were free! They were all free, it was quite difficult to believe, after years of spying and keeping his true allegiances, as well as his relationship secret had taken it’s toll.

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The years hadn’t been kind to Severus Snape, resident Potions Master and resident Bat of the Dungeons. The face once full of laughter and smiles was now worn by the passing of time, heavy wrinkles marring a previously youthful and if not classically handsome still alluring face.  
In truth Severus Snape had not smiled or laughed much since the disappearance of his son, nearly fifteen years ago. Since that fateful night where he and his bonded Lucius Malfoy had come home after a gala to see that their precious baby boy was missing, the crib smashed to pieces and the house elf that had been assigned to watch over their child lying dead on the ground surrounded by a pool of his own blood. The dark robbed potions master sank to his knees at the sight of the empty crib, whilst his husband searched frantically for any trace of their lost child. When it was certain that there was neither hide nor hair of their babe, the blond man sat next to his love and wept with him, each soaking up the comforting presence of the other.  
Just as Malfoy was getting up to check on Narcissa and his other child Draco, a voice spoke from the shadows:  
“I’m terribly sorry to do this to you my boys, but I fear it is for the greater good. If you were to raise this child he would certainly go dark and I cannot allow that to happen. Do not threat, the boy will be well looked after, and since I plan on obliviating you, you will not even miss him.”  
The men huddled on the floor froze in fear at the words being spoken, the man was obviously crazy, he was going to take away their son, but before either man could offer up any resistance the spell spilled forth from Albus Dumbledore’s lips and the whole incident was forgotten. All the people who had been aware of Severus Snape’s pregnancy-very few as Lucius had to have his public life with Narcissa, to sustain the propriety of the Malfoy name, had kept his relationship secret apart from a select trusted friends and family -been carefully obliviated.

And so it was that Snape and Malfoy spent the next fifteen years in complete ignorance of their missing child. Over the years they both grew embittered as the war with Voldemort raged on and a void they didn’t even know existed remained unfilled in their souls. Lucius Malfoy had also taken on the mantle of spy at the second return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; his help had been invaluable in planning the final battle.  
Nearly no lives had been lost, with the notable exception of Albus Dumbledore who perished mere seconds before The Boy-Who-Lived’s glorious victory, under heavy spell fire from a group of Death Eaters in a last ditch attempt to turn the tide of the battle which clearly was not going in their favour.

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So there the boy stood, trembling before the eyes of all the combatants of the Second Wizarding War against Voldemort. A great cheer rang out across the grounds of Hogwarts where the battle had taken place, the victors quickly rounding up the remaining Death Eaters before they could attempt to flee. They all rushed towards the gangly boy that was their saviour, intent on congratulating him on his impressive defeat of the wizarding world’s greatest enemy, only to be stopped by a protective bubble that erected itself around the boy. The crowd stopped in its tracks staring at the teenager within as he fell to his knees before promptly fainting and slumping to the ground. The shield did not falter as expected when the child lost consciousness, and the first person daring enough to touch the shield was abruptly thrown through the air before landing heavily on the ground with a thud. 

The spectators were forced to stare in shock as the Chosen-One started changing before their eyes, his limbs elongating to become graceful and elegant. The boy’s face morphed so instead of the still childish features, high cheekbones, sculpted eyebrows and a slightly pointed chin appeared. Harry’s usually messy locks, elongated so they would reach the base of his back when standing, and his hair took on a blue hue when the light hit it.  
All in all Harry looked stunning, like an ethereal creature of myth and legend, not one person there could deny the child was beautiful, yet the slumbering form held a sense of fragility that made all the watchers want to protect him from any harm.

In the excitement no one noticed that Severus Snape, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy all fainted at the same time. In reality these unexplained phenomenons were happening because Albus’ magic had lost its hold with his death. The obliviate he had performed all those years ago was destroyed, meaning that the Snapes and Malfoys would once more know of their missing son.  
As the three adults awoke they all looked at each other, the knowledge they had uncovered burning in their minds. Yet, before they could act, the sphere surrounding their son explode outwards in a wave of pure unadulterated power. All the onlookers were thrown back several meters, as they watched as the Potter boy rose into the sky by some unknown power and started screaming.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK Rowling’s works. I wish I did, but alas, some things were not meant to be…

Warnings: This story contains self-harming, if this is a trigger for you please do not read. This will also have relationships between two men, if you have a problem with this then don’t read the story.  
Ron and Albus Dumbledore bashing.  
There will also be mild/not so mild scenes of violence, but I will specify at the beginning of the chapter if it contains any violence, self-harming, etc.

AN: This story is canon compliant up until the end of TGoF, elements from the last three books are incorporated but there are significant changes: no horcruxes, no occlumency lessons, the pairing SS/LL, etc…

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For most people waking up in excruciating pain and screaming till their throats were raw was not a commonplace experience. Alas, for our dear Boy Hero it was not so. He often awoke from his terrible nightmares of Cedric falling through the veil and the dying pleas of his mother begging for mercy with a sore throat from his anguished cries, his body tangled in his measly sheets from all the thrashing. However Harry had learned to sleep with either a corner of the pillow or blankets in his mouth to muffle the noise. Uncle Vernon didn’t like for his beauty sleep to be interrupted and he made sure Harry knew of his displeasure if he ever was roused from his slumber.

And so it was that when the Boy-Who-Lived did wake up he was unsurprised to feel his dry itchy throat and the leaden feel of his limbs. What did surprise him however was the feel of hard ground and the soft caress of grass on his back. No, this was not Harry’s typical awakening… It was far worse.

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Pain. Not your usual type of pain, not the mild headaches or sore knees from too much sport. This was the kind of pain only cruciatus could bring, and boy did he know how that felt. Hell he’d even had old snake-face’s cruciatus and I bet that’s probably the strongest one there is out there.  
But why was he feeling this now? He’s not in the graveyard is he? Oh please no. Merlin no, anything but that… I don’t think I could take seeing Cedric die again, seeing his face shadowed with confusion looking up at me almost pleadingly. An unending rerun set up just for my own personal viewing pleasure, or should I say torture? I just want it all to go away, why can’t they all just leave me alone?  
The young man berated himself sternly, this was not the time for wallowing in self-pity, he could brake down like he usually did later, away from any possible prying eyes, but for now he had to figure out how he got here. As a matter of fact where was he?

Then it all came crashing down, in a violent explosion of lights behind the boy’s closed eyelids. The careful months of planning under the ever vigilant gaze of Albus Dumbledore. The fake Occlumency lessons with Snape, which were disguised as remedial potions, which were in actual fact, combat training, not that it meant that the lessons had hurt any less. No in fact they probably hurt more than an intrusion of his mind did. The constant barrage of insults to his dedication, his physique, his parents and his mental ability had really taken its toll. Snape-the greasy git- had just been confirming what Harry already knew: that he was weak, a freak, not worth the sacrifice of his parents all those years ago.  
Snape didn’t even need to remind Harry of it, for he knew. He knew deep down in his bones, the very fiber of his being that he would never be good enough. He could never be their Chosen One, no matter how hard he tried. And it was killing him. Every time someone he knew died or he read in the Daily Prophet that a new attack had taken place, a little part of him perished along with the hope that he would ever survive this war and know a day where he could sit down with his family and do nothing. No worries plaguing him, even in his sleep, and no matters of the most pressing urgency forced onto his shoulders.  
No, Harry Potter just wanted to go away for a very long time and not come back. But not even this most simple wish could be fulfilled, he had a duty to do, and even if it killed him he was going to see it through to the end.

So Harry lay there, unmoving, remembering his fight with Voldemort and his desperate uttering of the killing spell, which had miraculously hit its target. Seeing the long serpentine body falling to the ground in a graceful arc before hitting the dirt with a dull thud, a small plume of dust rising with the force of the impact.

His whole being burned, it felt as if he had been stretched to the very brink of death and then been healed hurriedly leaving no visible signs of the torture but not alleviating any of the pain. He wondered what had happened. He distinctly recalled standing there, looking at Voldemort’s body and thinking that it was finally over, that he had survived, that he could many live the peaceful life he had envisioned. 

Apparently this was not meant to be, for the last thing he recalled was falling after having lost control of his body. Surely if he had died it wouldn’t hurt so much, then that must mean that he was alive. So that left him with a dilemma: if he was indeed alive why was he in so much pain and why was he not in the Hospital Wing? Harry was certain that had he been injured they would have taken him to the care of Madam Pomfrey. Yet he could feel grass through the material of his light jumper, which would mean he was still lying where he had fallen, on the lawns of Hogwarts, next to the corpse of his once nemesis.  
What had happened he wondered? He strained his ears in the hope of catching some stray sound, but all he could hear was the muted hush of voices, sounding as if they were coming from a great distance. 

All throughout his pondering Harry had stayed very still; deciding that if he was in any danger it was probably best for him to act unconscious until he could assess the threat to his person. Since he couldn’t tell what had come to pass, and he seemed to be in no immediate danger, the teen made the decision to open his eyes and look up.  
And oh boy what a sight greeted him.

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When Lucius saw his child, his son, hovering in the air, his mouth hanging open in a scream of unbearable agony his heart broke. Throughout the last fifteen years he had known something was missing from his life, but he had not realized the magnitude of what he was yearning for. He turned to his bonded and saw that the same feeling was echoed in his eyes, the hurt and sorrow at what they had missed out on for all these years; never seeing their child, not being able to watch him grow up and become the strong young man he obviously had become. Their hearts broke for the ‘what could have been’s’ and the ‘what ifs’ of life. Most importantly they cursed Albus Dumbledore for ever having interfered in their lives and taking away their son.  
The two men stared stoically at their new found son, knowing with some previously buried paternal instinct that hey could do nothing to alleviate his pain and could only watch on.

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Severus could only guess at what was happening to his son; the most obvious being that a very powerful glamour charm had faded which was the reason for the now dramatically changed appearance of the youth, the second he hazarded was the breaking down of blocks placed on Harry’s magic, this was the source of the raw power that surged of the boy in waves, scorching the earth outside his sphere of protection which was still intact, and causing him to float in mid-air.

The potions master knew there was nothing they could do until the blocks had been destroyed completely and Harry’s magical core had readjusted itself to the increased volumes of magic now coursing through its system. And so he prepared himself to wait out the possibly long hours before he could finally meet his son for the first time.  
Yes Severus knew that he had already met the boy, Merlin, he’d taught what he’d thought was the Potter spawn for four years already. Looking back on his attitude towards the teenager he was sad to say that he had treated the child appallingly, but he must have been justified somewhere along the way, right? The boy had obviously been brought up as a wealthy little brat just like his father judging by the way he flounced around Hogwarts and was always flaunting school rules.

The lad had no respect for authority and seemed to believe the whole world was at his beck and call, well Severus had striven to prove him wrong throughout his years at the school by assigning detentions and trying to impress upon the boy the foolishness of his brash -rushing headlong into danger- attitude.  
Yet even with him reasoning away his assumptions and subsequent treatment of his child, a small voice in the back of his mind still told him that he had been wrong to judge the boy thustly based merely on the relation he had to his father, a father which he had never known and who was in fact not even his real father! He looked back at the most recent combat training and cringed as he recalled the verbal diatribe he had continually spewed:

‘Is that the best you can do Potter? I thought you were a hero, always going out and saving the innocents? Or was it all done for the publicity, we know how much our resident celebrity loves the spotlight. Well that didn’t go so well last year did it, what with the unfortunate death of our young Mr. Diggory. I told them you shouldn’t compete in that tournament but exceptions always seem to be made for you Mr. Potter, don’t they? Well not with me, in this classroom you will be treated as any other student, do you understand Mr. Potter or shall I use smaller words so that your pitiful intellect may keep up with my instructions? No, then we shall continue with our previous lesson…’

On and on he had raged at the child, and the poor thing had barely offered more than token resistance, his eyes admitting defeat and acceptance of his words.  
Looking back he realized that the child that had come to the school that September was not the same as the one that had left. He was skinnier and more withdrawn, he also seemed to be actively avoiding his friends, an act which was decidedly odd as the Golden Trio was nearly inseparable. He would have to keep a closer eye on his son’s behavior to be certain that nothing untoward was happening under his nose.

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The spectators that had gathered around the child were all quietly herded of the scene, the body of the fallen being moved and the lawn cleared of any debris. Eventually only the most important figures were left standing there. Severus, Lucius and Narcissa all stood together, whilst around them milled the other order members who were close to the child, McGonagall, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shackelbolt-who had become the new minister of magic after the unexpected assassination of Minister Fudge- and the elder Weasleys: Bill, Charlie, Molly and Arthur.

The parents of the hovering child had decided to not divulge the secret of the boys parentage until he was awake. They thought the child would feel betrayed enough knowing that the man he had considered a grandfather figure for years had taken him from his real family, they did not want to add to that the weight of everyone else knowing the truth before Harry- for the boy absolutely hated to be kept in the dark - to what surely would be an intense betrayal.

The only reason the Malfoys and Snape were allowed to stay was because they claimed to know the reason behind Harry’s ailment. However they absolutely refused to divulge even the tiniest of details unless they were to speak to the teenager directly.  
This had certainly peaked the curiosity of the rest of the Order of the Phoenix who were completely befuddled as to Harry’s state, and wondered how two ex-Death Eaters and one’s wife would know the reason behind the Chosen One’s mysterious bout of floating and change of appearance. 

Before too many more questions could be asked the boy’s screams ceased and his body gently lowered itself to the ground, the protective shield was still in place, but the child at least no longer seemed in pain, which was a relief to all present.  
An excited hush broke out among the remaining spectators; the teen seemed to be stirring. The now elfin looking creature sat up, his midnight blue locks cascading down his back, as if moved by some unseen wind created purely for the sole purpose of making the thick strands float romantically around the boys face. Molly Weasley opened her mouth, ready to question the child, but all that emerged was a gasp that was echoed by the other people present; for as his eyelids fluttered open they saw that the once stunning emerald green eyes were gone, replaced instead by bright shimmering orbs of the purest silver that seemed to see down into the deepest recesses of your soul.

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Harry was confused, scratch that, he was down right terrified. He wakes up to see a bunch of Order member surrounding him, along with the Malfoys-who knows why they’re there, yes Harry knew that Lucius had been a spy for their side for years, but that didn’t mean he had to like the man did he? And his wife seemed like a real snob, maybe she was nice but he didn’t really think they would get on well- and Snape, now why on earth was Snape there? The man absolutely loathed him, never mind that he didn’t actually see Harry but saw James, the man had still made his life a living hell for the past four and a bit years.  
The second thing that befuddled Harry was the fact that there was a shield around him, when did that happen? It couldn’t be him doing it, could it? He was weak; he didn’t have the kind of power to sustain a full body shield even when unconscious. And why was everyone staring at him, he’s not horribly disfigured or something is he? That would be just his luck, you kill Moldywarts and then you end up looking like him. Honestly can’t a guy just get a brake?

Obviously not judging by the gobsmacked looks on the faces of all those present. With a shaky voice Harry asked: “Um, guys…” But Harry cut himself off with a strangled gasp born of shock, for the voice that had emerged from between his lips was definitely not his. This soft lilting voice that would sound more appropriate coming from a long forgotten mythical creature, not an ugly runt of a teenager. What on earth was going on, he looked down at his body and saw that his skin glowed with an unnatural light, as if a ray of sun was lodged firmly under his skin and was emitting its rays outwards. His fingers were long and thin, reminding him oddly of his potions master’s, they seemed to also possess the same grace and delicacy. Speaking of delicacy, his whole frame seemed to be longer and slimmer, there was almost certainly something going on here.  
Gathering his courage Harry braced himself and asked the question that had been burning in his mind: “What’s happened to me?”

The gathered adults looked on in amazement, they too had been perturbed by the melodious voice and piercing eyes. They quickly gathered themselves for they could see the obvious disquiet lurking in the boys silver gaze, surprisingly it was Narcissa Malfoy that stepped forward and slowly started approaching the shield, she spoke in soft tones as if she were addressing a wounded animal: “Harry, do you think you could take the shield down for us please? We just want to check and see if you’re ok, we promise we’re not going to hurt you.”  
The company stood in shock at the sight of Narcissa Malfoy comforting the Boy Who Lived, but her words seemed effective for the shield crumpled before their eyes, and Harry sat up somewhat straighter before once more repeating his previous question, this time with a bit more steel in his voice: “What’s happened to me? Why are you all starring at me as if I’ve grown a second head? I haven’t have I” he chuckled nervously, “Oh Merlin, please say I haven’t been horribly disfigured or something? Sirius please tell me what’s going on?”

Said man approached his now distraught godson, with the intention of hugging him but as soon as his hand touched the boy he was propelled powerfully through the air. The Order up till now having remained silent and unmoving burst into action, Remus and the twins rushing to Sirius’ side to check for any injuries whilst the others now gathered around a hysterical Harry who was apologizing profusely to any and all.  
No one dared to touch the boy for fear of suffering the same fate as the dog animagus now lying prostrate on the ground knocked out cold. The adults all murmured soothing words in the hope of calming the teen but to no avail. They eventually came to the conclusion that they could do nothing for the child when he was so worked up and so cast a mild sleeping charm upon the huddled form to ensure that he would sleep peacefully until they could get him to the Hospital Wing.

And so it was that a slumbering Harry Potter was transported to the care of Madame Pomfrey followed by an assortment of Order of the Phoenix members and one unconscious Sirius Black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry you didn’t get to read the meeting between Lucius, Severus and Harry – please don’t kill me- but it will definitely happen next chapter, so keep on reading.  
> Also I have a question, do you want Harry to be a magical creature? I think it would be pretty cool, but I’d like to hear what you think. So review and tell me what you think.Thank you for reading, and all your wonderful reviews!! They really motivate me to write faster. ☺


	3. Awakening

White light streamed through the large glass windows, illuminating the hospital ward and the occupants within. Our young boy hero lay sleeping on one of the sturdy white beds, resting under the crisp linens. The Snape-Malfoys, the Weasleys, Sirius Black –having recovered from being knocked unconscious by his godson- and Remus Lupin all stood around the young man’s bed waiting for him to stir. Poppy had done all she could for the boy, spelling a calming draught into the boy’s stomach. No diagnostic spells would work on the unconscious teen, and they had all committed themselves to waiting for the child to rouse himself in order to get the answers to all their questions. 

The adults conversed in hushed tones, Narcissa, Lucius and Severus off to one side.  
“How are we going to explain all this to the child? He was obviously distraught when he first woke up, and this kind off news is not going to help him any. ” hissed Severus.  
“Well we can’t just not tell him anything, that would be an even bigger mistake. I think the best thing we can do is explain calmly that Harry is our son, and also elaborate on our relationship with Narcissa as well as what Dumbledore did. As to Dumbledore’s reasoning, we can only speculate. But as soon as we’re done detailing the situation to our son we should pay a visit to Albus’ portrait. I am sure with the right persuasion he will be more than willing to tell us his reasoning.” Lucius replied with a dark gleam in his eyes as he finished his sentence.

Before they could converse further they heard a soft whimpering sound coming from Harry. All of the adults rushed to the boy’s side, seeing if they could help him. They were greeted with sight of long black tousled hair and large silver eyes staring back at them. When Remus tried to approach the huddled form, all that happened was a pitiful half-sob emerging from the teenager. He backed away slowly, making sure to make no sudden movements. Surprisingly it was Narcissa who broke the silence, gently calling out to the youth. “Harry…”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Okay, he was pretty sure he was in the hospital wing now. Nothing else held the exact same smell of potions and almost unnatural cleanliness.  
Oh God, why did his body hurt so god damn much! If he was in the Infirmary he would have expected his wounds or whatever was wrong with him to have been dealt with by now. Well there weren’t many other choices then to just get up and ask Madam Pomfrey for a pain-killing potion. So Harry struggled to escape the realm of unconsciousness.

When he finally coaxed his eyelids open, it was to see a group of people huddled around his bed. This was definitely not good. When the blurry shape of a man approached he started to panic. This reminded him to strongly of the times that Uncle Vernon would approach him when he was already down and injured and start whipping him with his belt or punching and kicking him with his great beefy limbs. He couldn’t deal with this right now. The thought that he was safe in Hogwarts and that his Uncle couldn’t possibly be there didn’t even enter his mind. All he could think about was avoiding a beating at all costs. He didn’t think his body could handle one at the moment. And the best way to do that was to generally avoid eye contact and apologise for anything that had ever gone wrong under the sun. If he was lucky, and his uncle wasn’t already too drunk he would get of with a slap to the face. If he was unlucky, well, he didn’t linger on those thoughts for long.

No one knew what kind of hell was reserved for Harry every summer when he was sent back “home”, he thought with a sneer. Yes it was so absolutely positively lovely to go back to that god-forsaken place where he was denied food and clothing, was treated like a house elf and then beaten for not doing all his chores well enough. It was pretty hard to do all your chores when you were pretty sure you had a few broken ribs and maybe a broken wrist. If it wasn’t for his magic healing him, Harry didn’t think he would have survived for very long in the Dursley household. When he was younger he had thought it normal that he healed so quickly, but after a boy in primary school had broken his ankle and had worn a cast for a few weeks, he had realised that he did heal at a much faster then average rate. And with the realization that he was abnormal came the thought that maybe when Uncle Vernon beat him and called him “freakish” he did have a good reason for doing so. One of Harry’s few comforting ideas when he was young was that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia actually cared for him and when they hit him or denied him food it was in the goal of making him “normal”, and therefore worthy of their love.

And Harry had tried his best to be just like Dudley and the other boys but no matter how hard he worked at his chores or how little he ate, or how much he begged his body to not heal itself and prove its “wrongness” it never worked. So Harry reluctantly got used to the idea that he would never be loved and that he would forever live as an outcast and freak and that the Dursleys were absolutely right in their treatment him.  
When he had arrived at Hogwarts years later, reality had come crashing down hard. He had always entertained the notion that maybe, just maybe it wasn’t normal for your family to starve and beat you, but these thoughts had always been ruthlessly repressed. To finally be confronted with undeniable proof that your darkest fears were real was just terrifying, so Harry had taken to carefully hiding all his feelings behind a mask. Layers upon layers of fake emotions and reactions that would stay firmly in place until he could be alone and let his true self emerge. Not even Ron or Hermione knew quite how truly scared he was of most adult men. This was one of the main reasons he hated Snape. He reminded him too much of his uncle, constantly leaning over him and spouting disparaging comments about him and his parents. 

Harry honestly didn’t know how he had managed to hide his past from everyone; it was a miracle he hadn’t been found out. It probably helped that almost straight after the beginning of first year he had mastered glamour charms and silencing spells. Now he didn’t even notice the strain on his magic from keeping the glamours up all the time.

So Harry hardly thought he could be blamed that his first reaction when a tall man approached him when he was hurt was to cower in fear. It didn’t help that he remembered the final battle, waking up and sounding nothing like himself to then proceed to have a panic attack, at lest that’s what he thought it was. It was only when he heard a female voice call out his name did he start to calm down. He knew for sure it could never be his relatives, for they had never called him by his name. Boy, freak, waste of space, good for nothing, pest, all of these he had heard on a regular basis but never Harry.

So hearing his name being spoken by a woman that he knew was not his Aunt was a great comfort. Having calmed down completely Harry opened his eyes, which had been screwed shut and looked at the now further away crowd that formed a ring around his bed.  
He wasn’t surprised to see the Weasleys or Sirius and Remus but was shocked to the see the Malfoys and Snape. He realised now that it was Mrs Malfoy who had called out his name and was the one currently closest to his bed. Oddly enough he felt strangely comforted by her presence. He realised that she had been speaking and concentrated on her words. As soon he focussed all of the sounds rushed back in, in one giant tumult of sound. It wasn’t a particularly nice experience and Harry’s head was still reeling a bit when he finally understood Narcissa’s words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thank you again for all you reviewers, please continue to do so, it really is a brilliant motivation to keep on writing. I’ve already started the next chapter and will hopefully post it shortly. Review!!!!


	4. Explanations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: some swearing, mentions of abuse, descriptions of self harm, may be triggering.

“Harry. Harry dear, can you hear me? Don’t worry, you’re safe here, no one can touch you here. It’s over you did it, he’s dead, and he’s never coming back. It’s okay, no need to panic, just try to focus on my words and breathe slowly and deeply, that’s it, in and out, in and out…”  
It seemed to be working for Harry had regulated his breathing to coincide with Narcissa’s instructions. Now he was just staring intently at the blond, obviously waiting for an explanation of some sort.

Narcissa turned to the rooms’ occupants, waiting to see if any of them would say anything.  
“Harry darling, Severus, Lucius and I have some important news to discuss with you, I think it would maybe be better if we were alone for this conversation…” she glanced at the rooms other occupants as she spoke.  
“NO… please I would rather they all stayed…” the teen shifted nervously on the bed, barely concealing a wince as the movement caused his aching muscles to throb. Unfortunately for him his discomfort did not go unnoticed from the dark haired potions master.  
“Potter, if you must insist on having all of your fan club around you for our explanations at least let us heal you before hand. I don’t want to have to endure your constant shuffling and fidgeting.” At those words Madame Pomfrey bustled in, and immediately started fussing about Harry, much to his embarrassment.  
“What have you gotten yourself into now, Mr Potter, if you end up in here much more often I’ll have to seriously consider dedicating a bed purely for you, for when you next land yourself in the Hospital Wing.” She then waved her wand in a few complicated patterns over the child; it appeared the diagnostic spells were finally working. “Well the good news young man is that you are merely suffering from strained muscles and ligaments, nothing a mild pain-killing potion won’t cure.” With those words she walked off to a cupboard on the opposite side of the room and returned with a milky white potion, which she promptly handed to the bedridden child.  
Harry quickly uncorked and downed the potion, unable to hide his shudder of revulsion at the horrible taste that reminded him of sweaty socks, and mouldy bread.  
“ Good, you should be all set now Mr Potter, all that I recommend is some rest and no strenuous exercise for the next few days, understood?” at Harry’s nod she strode off to check on her other patients.

The ‘fan club’ as Snape had dubbed them, had remained very quiet throughout this whole exchange. They made careful note of how Harry’s change of appearance was never mentioned. They were also very relieved to hear that the teen had suffered no real damage from his mysterious transformation.  
Almost as one the group all turned to Narcissa obviously waiting for some kind of enlightenment as to the present situation.

“Harry” she started of uncertainly “are you absolutely certain that you want all of these people here to hear what I am about to tell you. There will be some information which may be quite upsetting for you.” Harry looked a lot less sure of himself now, unhappy with the fact that some of the people he held closest to his heart may see him upset. After some careful deliberation he shook his head no. “ Um, I guess I would kinda prefer it if you guys did leave. Not that I don’t like you or anything!” he added hurriedly “It’s just that I would like to hear it on my own…” the teen finished of in almost a whisper making those he considered family strain to hear him.  
Remus smiled gently down at him “ Sure cub, no problem, just know that we’ll be right outside if you need us and that no matter what we will always love you.”  
The surrounding crowd all nodded their heads in agreement, murmuring words of encouragement and love before heading out of the infirmary doors.

Soon Harry was left with Snape, and the Malfoys standing around him, and to say he was nervous would be an understatement. He was bloody terrified! There, not two feet away from him stood two very tall imposing men, and he had no doubt that a blow from either would knock him out. And they were ex Death Eaters to boot. The only reason he hadn’t panicked completely and demanded that his ‘family’ stayed with him as because of Lady Malfoy. She seemed awfully nice, and her voice was calm and soothing. It didn’t mean he trusted her, just that he believed that she wouldn’t hurt him, and possibly stop the men from hitting him if they got angry.   
Of course his face betrayed none of his inner turmoil, conditioned through years of painstaking practice to only let the emotions that Harry deemed appropriate shine through. 

The adults in question actually found it quite frightening to see the boy’s face so emotionless but they decided to push on anyway.  
Lucius spoke up first “Harry before we can explain properly you have to know a bit about us first. You know that Narcissa and I are married yes?” at the child’s nod he went on “our marriage was not one of love, but of convenience. That does not mean that I do not love Narcissa, but more in the way I would love a sister, not as a lover. The truth is that I prefer men and always have. In fact I have been bonded to a man for well over twenty years, and I have loved him for each and every one of those years. That man, Harry is Severus Snape.” At Harry’s incredulous look, Snape scoffed. “What is it Potter? Didn’t believe the greasy dungeon bat could ever be loved eh?” At his words, Narcissa and Lucius both glared at him, which promptly shut him up.  
“I’m sorry Harry, you’ll have to excuse Severus it’s been a very emotionally draining day. Now were was I? Ah yes, so I have been married to Severus for many years, and shortly after we got married we learned that Severus was pregnant with our child.” Harry’s eyes again widened in shock, a man being pregnant? This was completely unheard of and bizarre. That was definitely not normal, men weren’t supposed to get pregnant.  
Seeing that the child seemed completely lost Narcissa stepped in “ Harry dear, in the wizarding world it is perfectly normal for men to be able to carry children. Some men are born carriers due to some type of creature inheritance, or they can ingest a potion, which will enable them to bear a child.” The teen looked confused and hesitantly asked a question “But if men can also conceive, how come Lucius was forced to marry a woman. I assumed the purpose for the union was for the um, heirs…” he trailed of uncertainly.

“Yes Harry, under different circumstances your assumptions would be correct. Unfortunately Lucius came from one of the rare old blood families that looked down on same sex unions. Usually it isn’t a problem, since as long as there could be heirs and the bloodline was kept pure it didn’t matter. Lucius was unlucky and his father insisted he choose a woman to wed. I already knew of Lucius’ relationship with Severus, and I agreed to marry Lucius.   
We were all good friends and so living together was no problem. In public Lucius and I were the perfect pureblood couple, but in private, Severus and Lucius could truly be themselves. In order to quell all suspicious rumours Lucius gave me an heir.” When she reached this part Narcissa blushed lightly, dusting her normally ivory white skin with the faintest hints of pink. “Just because Draco was not born of an amorous union does not mean he was any less loved and cherished. Lucius and Severus’ child was born a few months after Draco. He was the most adorable baby, eyes the colour of liquid silver and Severus’ dark hair. All of us loved that child and Draco as if they were are own.”

Narcissa then stopped her tale and looked to the other men, silently asking who would go on with the telling of this wild story. Finally Lucius spoke up and continued. “ The presence of the boy was kept very secret, only Narcissa, Severus and I knew of his existence, along with one or two house elves. By then we were both spies for the order and our lives were constantly at risk. We eventually made the decision to inform Dumbledore of the baby’s existence; so that in the unlikely case of all our deaths someone would know of the child and be able to properly look after it.  
What we didn’t plan on was Dumbledore betraying our trust. When the boy was around one year old, Severus and I had to attend a Death Eater meeting. We left the child in the capable hands of our trusted house elf Dippy. On returning from the meeting we saw that Malfoy Manor had been broken into, we were straight away terrified for our children’s safety and ran to the west wing, where the children were kept. Upon arriving we saw the corpse of Dippy and the empty crib overturned. We were distraught, barely able to keep standing with the grief that lay heavy on our hearts. Yet before we could go check on Narcissa and Draco we were stopped short by none other than Albus Dumbledore, the light’s great leader.”

You could hear the hate in the man’s voice when he spoke of the Headmaster and Harry wondered what he could possibly have done to warrant such ire. The teen held an inkling of doubt in his mind at what the reason behind such anger was, but he dared not properly acknowledge the thought. 

“I remember seeing the man and being relieved. He had somehow been alerted to the break in and had come to try and help us find our missing little baby boy. Oh how wrong I was.” He said ruefully. “Dumbledore, the sick bastard, was holding our son in his arms. He then proceeded to tell us that he was taking the child. Believe us Harry; we would have done anything to keep that child, anything in the world. Sold our soul to the devil himself if it meant that he was safe and kept out of harms way.  
However, before we could do anything, that sick twisted man then proceeded to obliviate Severus, Narcissa and I, so that none of us would remember, never mind think of looking for our forgotten child.” Lucius sounded defeated as he spoke his sad tale, and Harry had the inexplicable urge to hug the man. He quickly shook his head to rid it of such thoughts. It wasn’t appropriate. Freaks didn’t get hugs, freaks didn’t deserve love or to be cared for like that child in the story, the child that had been kidnapped. The child with the silver eyes.  
Harry was snapped out of his reverie by Severus speaking. “ And so we lived on for fifteen years, unaware that our child, our joy had been taken away. We had always felt as if something had been missing in our lives and now we know what.”

“Harry, when Dumbledore was killed during the battle, all his curses, all his magic’s that he had used on people over the years vanished. We remember. Lucius, Narcissa and I finally remember. It appears that the headmaster also had enchantments placed on you: a strong glamour on your whole body and multiple blocks on your core.  
Your appearance has changed rather drastically Harry, which is the reason for your sore muscles, your body finally has its natural form, it’s also why your voice is different. Would you like to see?”   
Harry nodded his head shakily panic rising in his chest to claw at his lungs. What if he was hideous? What if he really looked like the monster he was told he was for all these years?  
Lucius conjured a full-length mirror, and placed it at the foot of the boy’s bed. Harry had squeezed his eyes shut, in an effort to hide from his surely grotesque appearance. Narcissa seeing Harry’s fright reassured him with gentle words that it was okay, that he needn’t be afraid to look.

Summoning all his Gryffindor courage, Harry opened his eyes. Eyes that were no longer the colour of the Avada Kedavra curse, eyes that now matched the description of Severus and Lucius’ child. His hair was impossibly long, pooling around his delicate frame in pitch-black tendrils, infused with the slightest hints of blue when the light hit it. Reaching up a hand, Harry touched his face; now filled with softer, more delicate features that gave him an ethereal quality, to make sure that they were, in fact, real. To his immense surprise they were, they felt solid beneath his fingers, more natural then his old face had ever felt. When he touched his hair he found it soft as silk and comforting to touch. Pushing the locks behind his ear he gasped in surprise when he felt a pointed tip. Staring into the mirror he could see that yes, his ears were now slightly elongated and pointed.  
Harry had been confused as to why Dumbledore had put a glamour on him, but now he understood, he looked absolutely nothing like the Potters. That could only mean one thing… that he wasn’t in fact a Potter.   
The realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. He understood, he got why the Malfoy’s and Snape were telling him that story. He was that child wasn’t he? Oh god he was their child. The child that had been taken by Dumbledore. He was SNAPE and MALFOY’S child? This could not be happening. This wasn’t possible. Hadn’t he been through enough? Couldn’t the universe just leave him alone? He just wanted to be left alone… Feeling the heavy gaze of his profe-no father on him, it was all too much. He couldn’t stand to be there for another second. To have their pitying gaze on him. To wait to be told that they didn’t want him and never would. Harry couldn’t take it anymore. He just wanted out. And, to his surprise, his new more powerful magic complied and apparated him to the Forbidden Forest, far away from any prying eyes.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Severus could see that the child was upset when he looked in the mirror. Who wouldn’t be when they realised that the face they had lived with, the face the had thought of as their own was not theirs, but that of an imposter. The teen touched his face as if searching for some sign of fakery. When the boy’s pointed ears were revealed he was also stunned. He hadn’t thought this was possible. He knew Lucius and he both had some creature ancestry, thus permitting him to carry his own child.   
But there hadn’t been a person powerful enough in either of their lines for years to receive a full creature inheritance. His son must be incredibly powerful in order for him to be a creature. And what creature would he be? Oh the purebloods liked to think that they were absolutely one hundred percent wizard but the truth was that most pureblood families had multiple creatures in their family trees. He would have to do some research in order to find out exactly what kind of creature Harry was.  
His thoughts were interrupted by the strong feelings of anxiousness rolling of the boy in waves. The piercing eyes travelled briefly towards them and he could see understanding flicker in them before they were quickly averted. It seemed as if the child had figured it out by himself. Now all they had to do was clear up a few more details and then they could see how the boy was reacting.

A loud pop that signalled someone disapperating echoed around the room. The adults stood stunned as Harry vanished from their sight to Merlin knows where. Their child had done the seemingly impossible: he had apperated within the walls of Hogwarts. Harry must have much more power then they had ever thought possible, however that wasn’t a priority, what mattered was finding the distraught boy.

“What in Merlin’s name happened? He shouldn’t be able to apperate!” cried Lucius. “Never mind that, we should focus on finding your son, he could be just about anywhere, and maybe he splinched himself. I doubt the boy has had any training in apperition and he could potentially be scattered around all four corners of the globe.” Narcissa’s harsh words spurred the two anxious parents into action. They left the Hospital Wing hurriedly only to encounter the Weasley clan along with the godmut and the werewolf. Seeing their harried faces they automatically assumed the worst.  
“What have you done to my godson you scum. If you’ve hurt a hair on his head I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”  
“Oh, do be silent Black, don’t speak of things you know nothing off” hissed Severus in reply to Sirius’ questioning.  
Narcissa intervened quickly to avoid any conflict “Now all of you listen here, Harry just realised some very upsetting things and his magic reacted to his wish to get away and apperated him to some unknown location. Now before you all ask what it is that upset him we aren’t going to tell you. That’s Harry’s prerogative and his alone. So don’t any of you try and go forcing the information out of him. He’ll tell you in his own time, if he decides to tell you. “ The adults all looked slightly abashed at their behaviour and acquiesced to the scary witches demands.  
“Alright, we have to organise a search party. We can hope that Harry is in the near vicinity, and so that’s where we’ll start. Bill, Charlie, check all the lower levels of the castle; Molly and Arthur check the main levels, Fred and George search the towers. Black and Lupin, you’ll join us in searching the grounds and Forbidden Forest, hopefully your heightened senses of smell will help us track him down.”  
With Narcissa’s orders issued they all set of to find Harry, all they could pray for was that he was still in one piece and not at the other end of the world.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Harry looked around in surprise. It appeared to be that he was somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. He recognized it due to the gloomy light barely penetrating through the thick foliage and the earthy and damp smell that permeated the air.  
The relief he felt form being far away from his would be parents was immense. To have that kind of knowledge foisted on him was not good for his mental state. And it wasn’t even sure that they were his parents. I mean come on, what are the odds of the dungeon bat and the Ice Prince’s father being his real parents? No it surely couldn’t be. He must’ve made a mistake, misinterpreted everything. Yes that’s right, he had over reacted, it was all in his head. There was absolutely nothing to worry about.  
Except there was something to worry about. No matter how much Harry wanted to deny it a small voice in the back of his mind kept saying that he was wrong. That he was in fact the son of Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. That Dumbledore had tricked all of them, making them think he was some benign ruler always and unrelentingly working for the ‘Greater Good’. 

‘Greater Good’ my arse. The crazy old man left me at the Dursleys for years. I asked, no I begged him every single year not to send me back there; he would always smile sadly and say that I was exaggerating or outright lying to him, and that I really should be grateful to my Aunt and Uncle for taking me in. Grateful? I should be grateful for being locked up, starved, beaten, rap-no that didn’t happen, I won’t believe it happened.   
The more Harry pondered Dumbledore’s behavior the angrier he became. Who was he to have made Harry suffer all these years and apparently needlessly too. For if Snape and Malfoy were his real parents then the blood wards had been a lie. There wouldn’t have been a reason why Harry had to go back to that hell each year. He could have easily stayed at an orphanage or at the Burrow or Grimauld Place. God he hated that man.

Suddenly it was all too much for the teenager; his anger faded to be replaced with a profound sadness in those silver eyes. The type of sorrow that you saw in hardened soldiers or torture victims. Not the type of expression you expected to see on a fifteen year old.

And it was too much. It was all too fucking much. All these feelings buzzing around inside his head, making him feel as if he was going to explode, as if he was breaking apart at the seams, he couldn’t deal with them. And so Harry used the one method he knew how. 

He didn’t know when it had started, the idea slowly creeping up on him, like some dark poisonous plant festering in his mind, poisoning his thoughts until one day: he did it. He had heard of it sometime in his primary years, how one of the older students had been pulled out of school and moved to some special place because they liked to hurt themselves. He didn’t understand why anyone would want to cause themselves harm when he was younger.  
But he realized after one of Uncle Vernon’s beatings, sometime during the summer after fourth year, that the pain made the thoughts stop. There would be blessed silence in his head. No voices saying he was a freak and that he deserved this, no dark thoughts on how he had killed Cedric, no conscience telling him that he didn’t really deserve this, that he should tell someone. No, all there was, was nothing…calm, peace at last. 

He remembered it vividly, the first time he ever did it. Taking Sirius’s pocketknife out, late one night, sitting in his bed. He had silencing and locking charms all around his curtains, just in case he made a sound or one of his dorm mates happened to wake up. Pressing the small blade to the creamy skin of his thigh. He knew most people cut themselves on their arms but he thought that even with glamour charms, there was more chance of someone seeing scars on your arm then on your thigh. No, only if he were getting showered or changed would he have to be careful.  
He was scared, was this really a good idea? Would this ever really help? But logic never fully coincides with emotions and so he watched in morbid fascination, as small red trails of blood would trickle over his skin. Crimson teardrops that he dare not shed himself. All his pent up emotions, free to run wild with the deliberate motion of cutting his skin repeatedly. And ever since that first time, some four months ago, he had never been able to stop.

It was just so simple. Whenever he was stressed or angry or upset, all it would take would be one little cut and he would be better again. He could face the world and smile and laugh, even when on the inside he felt like he was dying, like he was slowly withering away. Could none of them see? Were they all blind to the masks he wore? To the pain he felt?  
To be perfectly honest he knew he was being irrational, he wore the masks to make sure that nobody knew, and it was his fault if his facades were so good that no one could see his lies. So why was he complaining? Nothing mattered anyway.

So once Harry had again completed his ritual, he cleaned himself up, put the glamours back up, hiding the white scars and the still not healed and fresh cuts. He slid his knife into one of his trousers’ pockets and lay down to sleep. For he was weary, sick of the world, and tired of trying to be who he was not. Harry fell into Morpheus’ realm to the soft sighs of the wind in the branches above, and the chatter of animals around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a pretty emotional one for me to write. Please review, I love them sooo much.


	5. Acceptance...maybe?

As Remus and Sirius roamed through the woods, they kept on sharing worried glances. They were scared for their cub. What had made him upset enough to apperate away? Of course his new appearance would cause some unsettlement, but they assumed that whatever was wrong would likely be easily rectified. At least, that was what Sirius thought; Remus, as the more reasonable and level headed of the two had indeed thought of the possibility that this change was permanent.  
In fact, Harry had never smelt quite right. As a werewolf, his sense of smell was heightened; and he distinctly remembered the first time he had been near the squealing little monster wrapped in sky blue blankets. The child had smelt of pine needles, rain and sunshine. A more unusual combination he had never come across, however it wasn’t this odd mix of scents that confused him, it was the fact that neither Lily nor James smelt even remotely similar to the babe. Usually newborns were a perfect mix of both their parents, so the odd smell had bothered Lupin, but seeing the tiny almost perfect replica of James apart for his eyes, which were the most stunning emerald green, reassured the lycanthrope. And he buried his fears into some long forgotten corner of his mind. That was, until now.  
Now Lupin feared that perhaps his worry hadn’t been unfounded and that he had made a grave mistake in choosing to ignore it.  
It was as he was standing in the infirmary for the first time in a room with both Lucius and Severus that he realized that Harry smelled fairly similar to both men. A nagging thought crept into his mind then, what if Harry was their son. He now certainly looked like he could be. What with Severus’ ebony hair and build accompanied by Lucius’ facial features and eyes, although when thinking about it, Harry did have Snape’s chin and jaw line. Anyway, he had to focus on finding Harry, that was his main priority, everything else could wait.

They ran on through the dense foliage, Sirius in his animagus form, so as to better scent out his godchild. Neither of them had ever wandered this far into the forest, the centaurs and other creatures were usually very territorial over their land, but as of yet no one had come forward to tell them to turn back. They didn’t know if this was reassuring or not. It might mean that the inhabitants of the wood knew of their mission and decided to let them circulate unheeded, or that all the inhabitants were dead, massacred by Voldemort and his forces.  
Both men sincerely hoped that it wasn’t the latter.

Suddenly Sirius stiffened before galloping off into the distance. Remus sighed exasperatedly before jogging after him. He wasn’t as young or as fit as he once was, and he was beginning to struggle keeping up with the Padfoot. He stopped abruptly, almost running into said dog before he could slow down his momentum. He looked up, startled, Padfoot was at the edge of a small clearing, standing extremely still and staring intently at the other end of the small field. The meadow was filled with long swaying grass and sweet smelling wildflowers; it was decidedly bizarre, especially considering they were just before Yule and all the rest of the forest floor was covered in frost, and in some places small snow banks.

At the end of the meadow was a giant oak tree. It was immense, its branches reaching far and wide, its trunk a good three meters in diameter. The oak tree appeared ancient, yet untouched by the passing of time. Unperturbed by the wars and conflicts that had ravaged the wizarding world, an unmoving witness to the ages of man.  
And lying under its many branches and leaves was Harry, well, the new Harry anyway…  
The teen slept on, oblivious to the two males presences. The nature that surrounded him however was not unaware. The branches were curled over the slumbering body protectively, and, when Remus and Sirius –now in his human form- tried to approach the child a lone wolf rushed out of Merlin knows where and started to growling in warning. The thing was big; it would tower over Padfoot and Moony if they were there, easily the biggest wolf they had ever seen, and this was including Fenrir Greyback in his full moon form.  
Sharp teeth were bared in a clear warning: ‘Approach the child and you’ll have to deal with me’. Even Lupin who was an alpha werewolf knew not to challenge this beast. His most primal instincts were screaming at him to submit, to lie down and present his stomach and neck in a show of submission.  
The wolf was covered in thick black fur, not a single hint of colour to be seen, what struck them however were the animal’s eyes, they were the same shade as Harry’s new ones; that distinctive colour, alike to liquid silver, set into perpetual motion. Intelligence shone in those swirling orbs, and they held their doubts as to this creature being anything even remotely ordinary.  
Both men were more then a little scared and stuck for ideas. It was obvious that they wouldn’t be able to approach the teen, for fear of being painfully torn to pieces by that power jaw full of fangs and those huge paws.

At a loss for what to do, they sent up green sparks from their wands in the signal they had previously agreed on with the Snape-Malfoys, in the event that they would find Harry before them.  
All they could do now was wait.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Severus Snape was not a patient man by any means. No one, not even his beloved husband could ever say that he was. Severus was also not a man to suffer fools gladly, or to be made a fool of. And that was, in his eyes, what the Potter boy had just done. Disapperating without knowing how to and making them all go of in a wild goose hunt to find him. Of course the rational part of his mind could reason that it wasn’t the boy’s fault; that in situations of high stress, many a wizards magic would react to their wishes, unheeded of the anxious parents who would be given a heart attack at the sight of their newly found son vanishing before their eyes! So now one grumpy and irritated Snape was trudging through one Forbidden Forest in the middle of winter, all to find one idiotic child.

After a few hours of searching, it was a blessing to see the green sparks appear not too far away from their current location. Green was good, it meant Harry was unharmed, if it was red he didn’t know what he would have done, it meant that Harry was injured, and really Severus thought to himself, hadn’t Harry suffered enough hurt in his life?  
Despite Severus’ harsh view of the boy and his actions he had to acknowledged that it mustn’t have been an easy life to lead. What with being hunted down by Voldemort and his sycophants for the past five years. Snape also grudgingly admitted that his treatment of the boy had most likely added to his already heavy burden. But was it his fault that every time he looked at the boy, the face of his tormentor would look back at him?  
Guilt weighed down heavily on the potions master, for he knew he had done wrong by his child. His little boy that he had yearned for all these years, yearned for in a place that his mind could not access, but that his heart felt as acutely as if the separation had been just yesterday.

Arriving at the source of the green sparks, he along with Narcissa and Lucius emerged into a clearing, bathed in pale light. He straightaway noticed that the climate that seemed to reign couldn’t possibly exist at this time of year. The gargantuan black wolf that stood poised over the prone form of his son however soon took up his immediate attention.  
He would have attacked were it not for the fact that he realized what this beast was, and what it meant in correlation to his son.

Looking around he saw the stunned forms of his husband and what he considered his sister, along with the werewolf and the dogfather. Accessing their various expressions he deduced that he was the only one that had figured out why this creature stood guard over his son.

Sighing in annoyance he began speaking: “Alright, all of you listen up. Especially you two.” he emphasized, pointing at Lupin and Black.  
“What I am about to tell you will remain confidential and you will not speak of it to anyone else unless Harry gives you his express permission. Understood?” At their nods he went on. “Harry is Lucius and mine’s son. The story as to how this came about can wait until another day.” Severus added pointedly, glaring at Sirius in particular, who appeared to be about to interrupt with some rather crude comment. “The pertinent facts are that our son was taken from us a few months after his birth. The only people who had been aware of his conception were Lucius, Narcissa, Dumbledore and I. One night, after Lucius returned from a meeting we saw that the mansion had been broken into and that our son was missing. Dumbledore then appeared and obliviated us so that we wouldn’t remember our son. We presume that he then placed strong glamours on him that changed his appearance and blocks on his magic. He then gave our babe to the Potters for some reason that we are currently unaware of. When Dumbledore died, all the magic that he had placed on Harry and us was destroyed, resulting in the change of form and the phenomenal increase in his powers.”  
At this Severus paused to make sure that the last remaining Marauders were following the conversation before turning to his family to see if they agreed with his decision to reveal this knowledge. At the encouraging looks he received he went on.  
“The only reason I am telling you idiots this” he added with a sneer “is because I believe with Harry’s power now unblocked that he received a creature inheritance from either Lucius or I.” At the men’s shocked looks he smirked and resumed “Yes, I know it is extremely uncommon, but I saw the child’s pointed ears in the Infirmary. Also the wolf now hovering over my son is further proof of my theory.” When Severus said this, all of the wizard’s faces lit up with understanding apart for Sirius’, who asked indignantly: “What! What is it that I’m missing? I saw the looks on all of your faces; you all obviously know what Snape is going on about. So tell me for Merlin’s sake.”  
Remus decided to put Sirius out of his misery, as it appeared none of the Malfoy-Snapes seemed particularly inclined to do at the moment.  
“Sirius, Harry is a wood elf, some of their more known of traits are their pointed ears, delicate faces, long hair, and also their animal counterpart. The wolf currently standing over your godson is his, and he will defend Harry with his life.” Sirius looked relieved at this last part, knowing that someone would always look after his godson was a blessing. Even if he was confused as to how Harry could be Malfoy’s and Snape’s he decided to put his worries aside until he could garner more information. He had learned from his rash actions the night of Lily and James’ death that going out on some crazy adventure or acting on the spur of the moment often led to dire consequences. Most notably his twelve-year stretch in Azkaban. 

He would’ve gone on if it weren’t for the trembling voice that stopped him.

“So it’s true then,” Harry said. He had awoken almost as soon as his parents had entered the clearing. Seeing the wolf hovering over him should have been terrifying but instead he felt a deep sense of calm, he understood at some innate level that this creature would never hurt him. “ You two really are my parents” he added, staring at his potions professor and the ex Death Eater. At their acquiescence he sighed, nothing could ever be simple for him could it? And now he learns he’s also a wood elf, whatever the hell that means. Well at least he now had one friend he knew would never leave him in the form of the wolf that was now his lifetime companion. He should really find a name for the animal shouldn’t he; I mean he couldn’t just keep on referring to it as ‘the creature’ or ‘the animal’ in his head.

At the idea of names a thought struck him: he wasn’t Harry James Potter. Oh god, how sick was that, he didn’t even know his own name. Gathering up his courage he looked up to his new parents. Softly, so that all the adults had to strain their ears to hear him he asked “What’s my name? I mean,” he stumble ” my true name. I truly doubt it’s still Harry Potter.” He finished of with a nervous chuckle. 

All of the people there were shocked, the Snape and Malfoys were surprised at their forgetfulness, how could they have not remembered to tell their child his name. Whilst Sirius and Remus stood flabbergasted, letting it all sink in. It had suddenly become painstakingly apparent to them that Harry, their Harry, their cub, was no longer theirs. He was a stranger. Not that they would love him any less, they had been through too much together for that bond to break now. But it was disconcerting that they didn’t even know the name of the child that they had considered almost their own son.

After a few short seconds, which felt like a small infinity to all of the clearings occupants, Lucius stepped forward.

“Cerin, your name my son, is Cerin Aurelius Malfoy-Snape”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help me find a name for Harry's wolf, gender undetermined as of yet. Please review, and thank you for reading :)


	6. Names and Ire

Alright, I have a new name. That’s not weird. This is completely normal. Right Harry...err, Cerin? And now I’ve started talking to myself, which is also completely normal, at least I hope it is…

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Whilst Cerin was away in his own world, the adults were all looking at him expectantly; in all honesty, none of them knew what to expect from the teen. Severus was waiting for a temper tantrum followed by some childish demand or other. Sirius and Remus were also waiting for a fiery explosion. Their cub was somewhat known for having a short fuse, and they definitely thought that this whole incident could very well serve as the match that started the inferno. Lucius and Narcissa were mostly curious, they had never really interacted with the child, apart from Lucius who had briefly spoken to –alright, more like shouted at- the child, during the incident in second year. He sincerely regretted his actions, but he’d had to keep the Death Eater charade up at all times lest he be caught out and then consequently be brutally murdered, along with the rest of his family, whenever the Dark Lord came back. Which he was certain he would.  
Lucius could never have let that happen, he valued his family more then his own life, and would have done anything in his power to protect them.

However what none of them was expecting was for Cerin to calmly stand up, and walk towards the giant wolf.  
“Well hello there, you’re my wolf aren’t you? I can feel the connection. Well it’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Cerin, but I think you know that don’t you, considering you were here for that whole conversation.” Cerin took the wolf’s huff for a yes and went on. “ Well seeing as I have a new name how about I give you one eh?” The black mass of fur nuzzled the teen’s neck in assent. “Hmm…I know you’re a boy, and I don’t even want to really think about how I know that but anyway” he shook his head to rid it of errant thoughts. “A name… Shadow?” The wolf gave him a disapproving look “ Alrighty then not Shadow, too cheesy? Yeah I thought so too. Okay then, what about Mercury for the colour of your eyes?” The beast looked slightly more pleased but still dissatisfied.” Cerin paused to really think, and then it came to him, he knew the perfect name: “Valerius, I think you’ll like that am I right?” When Valerius puffed up his chest in pride, Cerin knew he had chosen wisely.   
Cerin was just a bit embarrassed at the name he had chosen; it came from a Latin verb that meant to be strong. He wasn’t really ready to admit to himself that he had picked the name because he longed for someone strong to look over him and protect him. He was sick of always having to deal with things by himself and if he had someone watching over him, well… it wouldn’t exactly be unwelcome.   
The teenager stepped forwards slowly until he could touch the soft fur with his hands. It felt oddly similar to his own hair, but somewhat coarser and thicker, all in all, the feel of it was overwhelmingly comforting. Seeing that Valerius didn’t mind him petting him, he took one last step forward so his whole body was pressed against the warm mass. Breathing in he could smell the scents of wild flowers and pine. Standing there in the warm embrace his reaction was to relax his muscles that he hadn’t even realized were tensed from all the crazy revelations he had just heard. He just felt so incredibly safe surrounded by the scent and feel of Valerius; he could have easily stayed there for eternity. Unfortunately he knew this wasn’t an option, and that his real parents along with what he considered his surrogate parents were standing not ten meters away.  
So he reluctantly moved away from the soothing warmth and turned to face his family.

“So… I’m you’re kid. I can in all honesty say that I never saw that happening.” Cerin smiled nervously whilst fiddling with his hair. All present could see that he was uncomfortable with this new arrangement.  
“Cerin, child, you don’t need to be nervous” Lucius said softly, trying to reassure the teen “ We know that this is a shock and we don’t expect you to be comfortable around us straight away. We understand that this relationship will take time and effort to build. All that Severus and I ask is that you give us a chance. Let us show you that we deeply care about you, and that the people you have met before now were mostly made up of masks we had to wear in order to protect our family and our lives. “

Cerin nodded his head uncertainly. He was glad they didn’t expect him to straight away start acting like their beloved son. He wasn’t even sure if this would work out, or if he even wanted it to work out. He wasn’t all together sure how he felt about suddenly having a whole new family. Hell, he’d lived most of his life yearning for people who would love him unconditionally and take them away from the Dursleys. He shuddered at the thought of his fat relatives, and one skinny, horse-faced woman. God he hoped that neither man was like Uncle Vernon, he wasn’t sure he could deal with that all over again. At least he didn’t think they would ever touch him like Vernon had, beatings he could handle, the other, he most definitely could not cope with. The last time it had happened he’d been a mess for the whole week. Every summer when he returned to Hogwarts he was always more jumpy then usual, but he usual managed to hide his flinching soon enough. It was hard though, especially in potions, when Snape- err my dad? - would loom over him like Uncle Vernon liked to do before he did something particularly nasty.

One of the very first instincts that had been ingrained into Cerin was that when a man came anywhere near you and was angry was to either hide, run away, or if neither of those options were viable, to then try and plead your way out of any punishment that was sure to occur. At Hogwarts, being around the potions Master was hard, for he appeared perpetually angry, and that ire was all too often aimed at Cerin. However, knowing that the teachers couldn’t hit you was a great reassurance, it didn’t mean that Cerin didn’t have to stop himself from flinching whenever Snape came near, but it did make it easier to hide his fear. 

Narcissa stepping nearer to him brought Cerin out of his reverie. “Are you alright dear? How about we move back towards the castle, I’m sure the others are all very worried about you and would like to know that you’re safe and sound.”  
Seeing Cerin’s harried look she quickly added “And it’s fine if you don’t want to talk to them yet, I’m sure they’ll understand that this is all a lot to take in and that you need some time to absorb everything before speaking to them.”  
The teen looked greatly relieved at this proposition “Thank you Mrs. Malfoy.” he added quietly, unsure of how to address the kind woman that stood before him. To think that this was Draco Malfoy’s mother was shocking. Oh god…wait, no, no no no no no. Dammit! That meant that Draco Malfoy, the bloody Slytherin Ice Prince was his freakin half brother. The universe sure did have a twisted sense of humour, if it thought it was funny to give him Draco as a sibling. How often had he thought of having an older brother there to protect him from the abuse he suffered daily at the hands of his ‘family’. Yet, when he’d finally grown out of his childish whims, and that he’d finally come to accept the fact that he would never have a family, that no one would ever want him; he got stuck with a sibling, one he didn’t even like. Hell they hated each other, had since the first time they met. Cerin had always thought that Draco was a pretentious little brat, who thought too much of himself and that needed to be taken down a peg or two.

Oh well. There wasn’t much he could do about it. Anyway it didn’t seem all bad; he had to admit, Narcissa was very nice. Even Lucius seemed friendly, it was just Snape that he was worried about, the man had always loathed him, for reasons he could never comprehend. The worst thing was that if the man had showed him even a little bit of kindness that first lesson, or if he had just plain ignored him, he would have tried his absolute hardest to do well in that class. For it was the one subject that he had thought he could perhaps excel at. His hopes had been crushed that first lesson, and he had straight away known that it wouldn’t even be worth the effort of trying. He knew that whatever he did would never be good enough for this man. That he could never be good enough. He had never been good enough for anyone. He had always been the freak, the outcast, the odd one out.   
All Cerin hoped for now was that Snape would maybe be nicer to him, seeing as he was his son and all. And wasn’t that a weird thought. He had parents, two dads to be precise. What was he going to call them? He wasn’t sure if he was ready to call them dad, it sounded much too personal. He guessed he’d just have to ask.  
“Um, I’m sorry to ask, but what should I address you as, I mean, I know you two are my parents and all, but I just don’t know what to call you…” The young man trailed off uncertainly, looking up at the two men, awaiting their answer.  
“Well Cerin, I think, that if you feel uncomfortable with father, or dad, or a variation thereof, then you can just address Lucius and I by our first names. Is this acceptable to you?”  
“Yes sir, err Severus, that’s fine.”  
“Excellent, now lets get back to the castle before we all freeze to death. I do believe we’ve been out in this blasted cold for much too long.”  
At those words, all of the clearing’s occupants rose up and started making their way towards the ancient castle.

Sirius and Remus moved towards their cub to check on him, however before they could get to close Valerius started growling warningly. He obviously didn’t like the idea of the two men anywhere near his cub. Cerin was immensely grateful to the wolf, he couldn’t deal with anyone touching him at the moment, and he probably wouldn’t for a while to come. His emotions were running too high, even after using his special method of coping. And it was using up all his will power to hold up his masks and try to act normal in front of all these people.  
“Hey Padfoot, Moony, I’m fine, I think that Val is just a bit protective of me, and might be for awhile. I mean we just met didn’t we.”  
“We know cub, we’re just a bit worried about you, we know that this is a lot for you to take in. Just know that Moony and I are here for you if you ever need to talk. Just because you’re no longer James and Lily’s kid doesn’t mean that we care for you any less. Remember that Prongslet, we’ll always be there for you, no matter what okay?”  
“Yeah, sure Sirius, thanks.”

The rest of the walk through the forest and up the grounds passed in silence. No one wanting to break the blanket of calm that had settled over the group. Upon reaching the entrance doors they stilled. In front of them were most of the Weasley clan and many of Cerin’s friends, well so much for not having to face them until he was ready. But Cerin was used to things not happening the way he wanted them to.  
“Harry” a feminine voice shouted, “thank god you’re ok, you had me so worried. Don’t you ever dare go running away like that again. You almost gave me a heart attack, and Harry I’m only fifteen, I’d rather not have a heart attack at any point in my life, never mind having one so young. Do you understand Harry James Potter, you are not to do that to me ever again!” The assembled crowd looked on in shock at the teenaged girl that had just berated the young man. Not that any of them disapproved, it was pretty much the exact same thing all of them wanted to say to the boy, for having given them such a fright.

Loud growling stopped everyone in his or her tracks. Not many had noticed the great hulking form of the wolf, which was stood next to the boy, but in all fairness, they had all been rather preoccupied with the relief of finding Harry safe and sound. Now that they had seen the beast though, it was hard to take your eyes of it. What all of them wondered though was why it had started growling. It had seemed perfectly at ease before, and even now didn’t seem likely to attack anyone. All it was doing was standing protectively around the small teen, and growling warningly.

“Blimey mate, what’s with the giant dog? Had to get yourself another protector did you? Wasn’t it enough that you had everyone else ready to die for you, had to add another potential victim to the list?” said Ron, sneering. He didn’t seem all that happy to see the boy that was supposed to be his best friend. He was getting rather fed up of Harry. Always seeking out attention. I mean take for example that stunt he’d just pulled, he had freaked out a bit and disappeared over what must be some inconsequential thing. And then everyone was looking for him. Hell, even his own family had gone looking for him. They hadn’t even really bothered to check on Ron. Yes they’d checked him after the battle to see if he was hurt and told him that they loved him, along with all the usual crap; but they didn’t even spend any time with him. They’d gone of to check on their other kids, the more important ones.   
He’d been in the middle of telling some people how he had been dueling three Death Eaters at a time at one point during the battle, when his parents had found him and told him that Harry had done a runner and that he had to go and help and find the brat. Well he was done with Harry stealing all his attention. It was time for Ron to shine.

“Ronald Weasley! How dare you say that to poor Harry. You apologise right now young man, and perhaps your father and I won’t make you degnome the garden for the next three years.”  
“No mum, I won’t. It’s true anyway isn’t it? I mean look at how everyone that spends time with him ends up. His parents: dead, Cedric: dead, Sirius: in Azkaban for twelve years, Hermione and I have also been injured multiple times running around after him on his crazy adventures. I’m through with you Harry; I can’t deal with your problems anymore. And anyway, what’s with the new look. Got tired of looking at your ugly mug everyday in the morning? At least like this people won’t feel the urge to throw up when they see you. It’s an improvement but it just makes you look even more freakish then before. Why don’t you just do everyone a favour and go away and never come back.” With those words Ron stalked off before anyone could stop him.  
The congregation just stood there in silence, shocked. They had never heard Ron say anything like that before. Sure they knew that Ron and Harry sometimes had the odd spat, but Ron had been outright vicious this time. 

He had crossed a line, and one particular individual, a certain potions master, was looking forward to making the boy rue the day he ever insulted his son. Oh yes this was going o be fun…

Trying to diffuse the tension in the air, Remus spoke: “Hey cub, how about we go to my old quarters and have some food? Sound good?” When Harry minutely nodded his head, he was rushed off followed by Sirius, Narcissa, Lucius and Severus.  
The Weasleys and Hermione, sensing that this was a private matter and that they wouldn’t be welcome stayed behind, vowing to apologise to Harry on Ron’s behalf. They really didn’t know what had come over him. But Hermione was determined to get to the bottom of it, along with the appearance of the wolf and Harry’s altered form.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Severus was worried for his son. He had barely reacted to anything that had happened to him. It was not normal for teenagers that had just discovered a set of lost parents, a new elf form, and his animal partner to take it all without at least some expression of distress. Yet it was precisely what Cerin was doing. He hadn’t shown any negative emotions, not once. Not even when the Wesley spawn had verbally attacked Cerin. He had remained worryingly quiet and stoic.   
The potions master knew that this wasn’t a healthy way of coping, that eventually Cerin would have a breakdown, and the longer he put it off and managed to suppress his emotions, the more violent and of a larger magnitude it would be.

Arriving at the werewolf’s old quarters they all crowded inside, settling on the sofa’s and armchairs. A house elf had been in just seconds before and had cleaned the apartments along with starting a fire in the hearth. A tray filled with steaming cups tea and some sandwiches and biscuits was placed on the low table. The doorway had to be expanded to allow the wolf to get inside before it curled itself around the base of Cerin’s armchair in front of the fire. 

“Now cub, could you tell us why Valerius started growling when Hermione spoke to you?” asked Sirius. Cerin’s face flushed red with embarrassment, “ Oh, that… it was nothing, it was just that she called me Harry James Potter, and it just hit me again that that wasn’t my name, that I’ve never really been Harry Potter. I guess Val must have picked up on my upset.” Seeing that the subject was not helping the boy’s stress levels, Lucius changed the subject.

“Now that we’re all hear, are there any questions you would like to ask Cerin?”  
“Yes si-Lucius, I have a few questions. Where would I be staying from now on? Do I have to tell the school about you and my creature inheritance or do I have to keep it secret. Where will Valerius be staying? I mean I don’t have to get of him do I? Please don’t make me get rid of him, I promise I’ll take full responsibility for all his actions, but I’m sure that nothing will happen, so please can I…”  
“Cerin, Cerin, it’s alright, nobody will make you part from Valerius, the bond between wood elf and their partner animal is sacred. For as long as you live he will always be by your side.” Explained Lucius. “ As to your living arrangements it would all depend as to what you would want. If you so wish you can go back to the Dursleys” seeing Cerin’s panicked look he move on “or you could stay with Severus Narcissa and I. We’d even be happy to host your godfather and Mr. Lupin if that would make you feel more at ease.”  
“I think I’d rather spend some time with all of you, so I can get to know all of you. Is that ok?”  
“Yes Cerin, it’s more than okay, we’re you’re family now, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we’d all relish the chance to be a part of your life and to be able to get to know the real you.”  
“Thanks, that sounds like something I could do. And I’d really like it if Sirius and Remus could stay with me too. That is if you guys are cool with it.” he added, turning towards said men.  
“It’s absolutely fine pup, no need to worry. “ Reassured Remus, speaking for both Sirius and himself.

“Moving on, you need tell no one of your status as a wood elf if you do not want to Cerin. You can choose to tell whomever you wish of your creature nature, however we will need to inform the ministry and the school of your parentage. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to gain custody of you, and the ministry might send you to live in some other family or in an orphanage. As I understand it Albus Dumbledore was your magical guardian and with his death, you have become a ward of the ministry.”  
“It’s not a big deal, I understand why we have to tell everyone. Also I’m sure as hell glad to not have to go live at the ministry. “ He added with a shaky breath, belonging to the Ministry scared the living daylights out of him. He was also immensely relieved that he never had to return to the Dursley’s if he didn’t want to. Cerin was finally thinking that maybe, just maybe things were looking up for him.

“Are those all of your questions answered dear?” inquired Narcissa. “Um yep, I think that was all of em, well at least for now anyway.”  
“Good, I was wondering, if it would be agreeable to invite Draco to join us, seeing as he is part of this family.”

Oh God, he had to speak to the ferret, his half-brother, now. Maybe things weren’t really getting any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the reviews! All of your suggestions for the names were brilliant. In the end it came down to two names Mercury suggested by wolfcathope, and Valerius by Cassie. But thank you to everyone else; it really is amazing to get so many reviews. So please review more!!


	7. Contemplation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of self harm.

Okay, he can do this. It’s just Malfoy, absolutely nothing to worry about. Not one single thing, well, apart from the fact that he hates your guts, and would probably appreciate seeing you strung up from the rafters naked for the whole school to see you starkers. But I’m sure it’ll be fine, Cerin thought to himself nervously.  
“Um, sure Mrs. Malfoy, I’m up for Draco joining us here.”

So it was that after a few minutes of awkward silence, a rather wet looking Draco Malfoy sauntered into the room. “Mother, father, why on earth have I been summoned here, and by a house elf no less. Yes we just won the war, but you’ve already checked up on me, and I was having a perfectly nice bath that’s just been ruined. “ Before the irate teenager could blather on, he happened to look at the occupants of the room, his cheeks now sporting the slightest tint of pink. “What are all of you doing here, and you, boy, who are you. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” He chose not to mention the giant wolf that was slumbering next to said boys chair, honestly, he didn’t want to risk angering the beast. In the wizarding world you never knew which animals were sentient and could understand you, and could therefore take offense at what you were doing or saying. He had learned his lesson after the Buckbeak incident.

Everyone just shifted around a bit nervously, this was going to be one hell of an explanation. And on top of that, all the adults were painfully aware of the animosity that the teens harbored for each other.  
“Draco Malfoy, we raised you better then that. You should know that what you have just done is completely unacceptable, now I expect you to apologise immediately” noticing the rather reluctant look on the teen’s face Lucius added “ before I make you, and then you will have another thing to be sorry for.”  
“Alright, fine.” Draco sighed. “ Dear stranger, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black, I offer my most sincere and profound apologies for having addressed you incorrectly, and for having possibly offended you.”  
“Next time with less snark young man. Now sit down for Merlin’s sake, there’s a lot you need to be caught up on.”

What ensued was an unbearably long hour of explanations on the part of the Malfoy-Snapes whilst Cerin tried to sink into the upholstery and hope he would be forgotten. Sirius and Remus had decided to start a game of exploding snap ten minutes in to stave of Sirius’ impeding restlessness, much to the disgruntlement of one potions master.

Finally, Draco was caught up to speed. To say he was astounded would be an understatement, his whole world had just been turned upside down. Harry bloody Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was his half brother. At least he had always known of his father’s relationship to Severus, otherwise that would have just been an even greater shock. To him Severus had always been just another father figure, although his relationship was different to that with his true biological parents.   
“So let me just get this straight. The boy trying to get the sofa to swallow him up is actually Harry Potter, who is really my half brother Cerin, who was kidnapped by Dumbledore when he was a baby, then Dumbledore obliviated all of you so you were ignorant of ever having had a child. And this afternoon, after Dumbles was killed in the battle his magic lost its hold which allowed you to regain your memory, and for Pot-Cerin” he amended quickly seeing Sev’s glare “to access his true form, which is a wood elf, which might I add hasn’t been heard of in centuries, and gain a wolf partner whilst all of you were off looking for him. Which also explains why you left so quickly after you had checked on me, I was rather curious, I was certain you were all going to cuddle me for hours to celebrate that monster finally being dead.” The Malfoy heir then blushed at having admitted that he was expecting cuddles from his parents. He was almost an adult now, he didn’t need cuddles, that was for small weak children. At least that’s what he told himself during the school year when he was particularly missing his mother or father. Sure he had Severus, his godfather, but the man was almost always busy, between marking tests, supervising detentions, and spying for the Order. Draco was honestly flabbergasted that the man ever had time to sleep, let alone cuddle him. 

Dragging his thoughts back to the conversation at hand, he observed his newly modified family quickly. His father and uncle Severus both had a light in their eyes that he hadn’t seen often, he wondered how long they had always felt that something was missing. In the wizarding world, the bond between parent and child was extremely strong, with the infant benefitting from the family magic. The bond was also doubly important for children with creature inheritances. It was often heard of for the new creature to need very close proximity to their parents, it was essential for their proper forming into adult creatures. Draco wondered how Cerin had been able to deal with all of this. Yes, his powers and creature had been suppressed, but he would still have felt the drain on his magic from his inheritance. And that coupled with an almost overwhelming need for close contact with his biological parents. All the while thinking that his biological parents were dead. It was frankly astounding that Cerin wasn’t half dead from exhaustion, or going slightly crazy from the lack of help, and guiding presence that parents normally gave to children that gained some sort of creature inheritance. 

Turning to his brother he observed him more intently. One thing was immediately apparent, he was beautiful. Not a word one would usually use to describe a male, but there was no other word that could do him justice. The boy was slender, with delicate features, his eyes were unlike any he had ever seen, extremely large, and they seemed to be able to see right down into his soul. Shuddering, the young heir looked away, he realized that the room had been oddly quiet whilst he made his observations. The two idiots in the corner had finally stopped playing their infernal game of snap, seemingly having realised that their conversation had come to an end. Deciding to break the silence, he asked: “So what’s going to happen now?”

“Well dear, Cerin along with his godfather, and Mr. Lupin, have decided to accept our offer to come stay at the manor for the upcoming break.” Said Narcissa, moving to embrace her son. “The Board of Governors has decided to shut the school down for a month to plan and then realise all the necessary repairs needed to make Hogwarts habitable once again. It will also give the students time to recover from the shock of the battle, and allow them to grieve for those they have lost.”   
“Indeed” drawled Severus “ I believe now might be an opportune moment to contact the house elves along with Mrs McGonagall, to tell them of our imminent departure.”   
“Excellent idea, now Cerin and Draco, you should run along to say goodbye to your friends before you leave. The house elves will pack up all your belongings and bring them directly to the manor. Now off you go.” Commanded Narcissa, watching as both boys warily stood up and regarded each other, before moving towards the exit. Valerius standing right next to Cerin, as he made his way to the Gryffindor common room, padding along at a steady pace, on the look out for any threat to his new friend.

**********

When the boys had left the room Snape turned to the two dunderheads. “Now listen here both of you, I do not like you, I never have and I most likely never will. The only reason you are being allowed to stay in our home is for Cerin. He is obviously attached to you, though Morganna knows why. You will not interfere with our relationship. And you will not try in any way to sabotage it, or I will remind you why I was one of the Dark Lords Inner Circle, and one of his most feared followers. Now am I understood, or need I reiterate for you imbeciles?”   
Sirius and Remus shared a heavy look fraught with meaning, having come to a conclusion they turned to the other wizards. “Alright, look, we’re not going to try and steal Ha-Cerin from you, or try and turn him against you. All we want is to be near our pup. We love him, and we haven’t been able to care for him recently, he needs us and we don’t want to let him down. We just want to form a stronger bond is all.” I think I speak for both of us when I say that it doesn’t matter that he isn’t really James and Lily’s child. We got to know the real Cerin, and it’s him that we want to be there for.” Sirius’ passionate speech was somewhat ignored with Narcissa’s next comment. The truth was that both Malfoys agreed with what Severus had said, and he wasn’t the only one to be feared. If they ever hurt a hair on their son’s head, they would make sure they regretted it for a very long time.  
“Gentlemen, now that it seems we are all on the same page, how about we go wait for the boys in the Entrance Hall, we can contact the elves from there. Anyhow, I’m sure the boys won’t be too long now.” Heeding Narcissa’s advice they all left the room, making their way to the lower levels of the castle.

 

**********   
Well that went better then I’d thought, pondered Cerin, exiting Lupin’s old quarters. At least he hadn’t gotten into a shouting match with Malfoy, damn, he was going to have to call him Draco now wasn’t he. Well that’s going to take some getting used to.  
“Oi Potter,I mean Cerin!”  
Well there goes my hope for a conflict free evening, thought Cerin morosely. All he really wanted right now was a moment alone in peace and quiet were he could use his knife in private. God everyone was so annoying, couldn’t they just leave him well enough alone?  
“Look, I just wanted to say that I know we weren’t really the best of friends here at school” at Cerin’s scoff he amended “alright, we hated each others guts, you happy now? But I think we could maybe put that behind us. You know what with us being half brothers and all. And I know you must think that I’m a total prat, but quite a bit of my snobbish, ‘I am holier than thou’ attitude was because it was what was expected of me, as the son of a Death Eater. My parents always told me that I had to act like everything and everyone was beneath me.”  
“Come on Malfoy, you can’t try and convince me that all that bullying and teasing was just because you had to act that way.”  
“I’m not saying that alright, I realise I’ve been a dick, but I was young and an idiot back then. It also didn’t help that you picked Weasley over me that first day in the train.”  
“So all of this” he said gesticulating at the two of them “was because I chose Ron’s friendship over yours when we were eleven? I was a kid, and Ron was the first person my age that I had met from the wizarding world. Why wouldn’t I have picked him, he seemed nice enough, guess I was wrong though.” He finished with a sigh. Why was Ron so angry with him, what had he ever done to him? Draco ignored his brother’s last comment, but storing it away for later analysis.  
“Ok, this is not going the way I had planned, but the point Po-Cerin, damn I keep on forgetting, well that’ll take some getting used to.” he mused, echoing Cerin’s earlier thoughts. “The point is that I want us to get along now. Do you think we can put the past behind us? We’ll be living together in the same house for the next month, and then possibly much longer. So I’d rather we not be constantly at one another’s throat.”

“Yeah sure Draco, I can agree to those terms. As long as you stop insulting me and my friends that is.”   
“Fine, I promise not to taunt any of your friends, you satisfied?”  
“Extremely.” Replied Cerin sarcastically. “Perfect, now would you please ask your pet to stop looking at me as if he wants to eat me, it’s kind of freaking me out.”  
Cerin chuckled “You don’t have to worry Draco, Valerius won’t hurt you, unless I ask him to of course.” he added darkly. Leaning forwards he stroked the wolf’s soft fur. “Isn’t that right Val? You’re not going to harm anybody are you?” Seeing the wolf give a seemingly annoyed huff he turned to his brother. “You see, Val wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Seeing Draco’s still unsure look he went on: “He’s not going to bite you, you know, anyway I’ve got to go say goodbye to my friends, see you in a few.” He called of in parting, making his way to the common room whilst Draco descended into the bowels of the castle to get to his friends.

**********  
Reaching the Fat Lady’s portrait Cerin stopped uncertainly, was he ready for this? He knew he’d have to face his friends eventually, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to have the discussion about his parentage in front of the whole house. Before he could take any decisions a quiet voice spoke from behind him. “Oh, hey Harry, I was wondering when we would see you.” said Neville. ”Actually Nev the name’s Cerin.” Corrected the raven-haired teen. “Oh, I’m sorry Cerin, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Neville backtracked quickly. “No Nev, it’s not something you could have known. Look, I’m not sure I’m ready to see the whole of Gryffindor House, would you mind just getting Hermione and Luna if she’s in there and then meeting me in the old DADA classroom on the third floor?”  
“Sure Cerin, no problem, I’ll just go get them, I know for a fact that Luna’s in there too. All of us are just waiting for the teachers to organise the Hogwarts Express to take us home for the break.”  
“Thanks mate, you’re a life saver.” He added gratefully before walking off to the unused classroom he had mentioned.

**********   
Sitting on a rickety desk in the abandoned room, Cerin considered all that had happened to him in the last twelve hours. He had defeated Voldemort, watched Dumbledore - the man he considered his mentor - die, changed appearance and had his powers unlocked before fainting in front of crowd of people. Waking up in the hospital wing and learning that he wasn’t actually a Potter but a Malfoy-Snape, before apparating to the Forbidden Forest and meeting his animal companion, and then learning that he was a wood elf. So yeah, that was his life, and how messed up was that?  
The creaking of the door alerted Cerin to another’s presence, before he could greet them he was accosted by a mass of brown frizzy hair, which was connected to the body of one Hermione Granger. God was she strong, her hugs felt like they could crack a rib, and he should know, he’d had his broken often enough.  
“Hey guys, it’s nice to see you.”  
“Hello Cerin, it’s nice to see that the nargles have finally decided to leave you alone some. You know what I was always saying” she spoke in a sing song voice ” ‘Too many nargles spoil the broth.’ Or is it too many blimpies? I’m not sure it matters. Anyway you’re looking much better.”  
“Um, thank you Luna? That’s awfully nice of you. But how did you know my name?”  
“You silly turtle, the blimpies told me of course.” With those words Luna moved further into the room and proceeded to start a conversation with a table. Too used to Luna’s antics Cerin turned his attention to Hermione and Neville. He felt a pang in his heart when he realised that Ron should have been here. But he couldn’t do anything to rectify that so he would just focus his attention on to the friends that were there for him.  
“Hermione I would really appreciate it if you could let go now, you’re kind of crushing me.”   
“Oh Harry, or should I say Cerin?” she said, releasing him from her death grip.  
“I would prefer it if you said Cerin please, Hermione, if you don’t mind.”  
“Sure, it’s no problem, whatever’s best with you. Now would you please explain what’s going on? Everyone’s talking about your new look, and the fact that you were seen with the Malfoys and professor Snape. What happened Cerin?”  
“Well it’s kind of a long story, so if you’d like to sit down?”  
When all of his friends were comfortable, having conjured several pillows - including one in the form of a frog, courtesy of Luna- he related all that he had learned that day, excluding some of the more private details. By the time he was finished, they all looked properly astonished, even Luna, although it might be because she was staring at her big toe which had a smiley face drawn onto it.  
“Wow Cerin, that’s a lot of stuff to take in. Are you sure you’re alright with going to stay with the Malfoys?” inquired Neville. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s what I want. No scratch that, it’s what I need, I can finally get the family I’ve been dreaming of.”  
“We’re happy for you Cerin, we really are. You definitely deserve the chance at a family. Now, we’ve spent enough time here already as it is, you and that wolf of yours better start heading down to the entrance hall. I’m sure you’re parents will be waiting for you, don’t keep them waiting.” Said Hermione, ever the responsible one.  
“I’ll miss you all.” Cerin added somewhat hoarsely. “Hey, it’s ok Cerin, we’ll all write to you won’t we?” Neville spoke for the entire group. Seeing their nods Cerin was somewhat reassured. He hugged each of them a final time before moving towards the door, “I’ll see you in a month, and don’t get into too much trouble without me.” He tacked on playfully as he exited the room, trying to lighten up the sombre mood, Valerius in tow.

**********   
Arriving in the entrance hall, he saw his family all waiting for him. He hadn’t realised he’d been gone that long, he guessed time must have just slipped away from him.  
“Um hey, I’m sorry I’m late, I didn’t mean to make you all wit for me.”  
“Not to worry Cerin, it’s fine. Now we shall be apparating to the manor, seeing as you and Draco cannot apparate Severus and I will side-along you. Is this agreeable to you?” asked Lucius. “Yes sir, that’ll be fine.” replied Cerin softly.

Lucius cringed inwardly at his own son calling him sir, it made him realise just how distant they really were. Well now they would have the time to catch up. Hopefully their relationship could be as strong as if they had known each other all their lives eventually. It was more for Severus’ sake that he was concerned, he knew that his husband had not treated their boy kindly over the years, although to what extent he did not know. He did know however that it would break Severus’ heart if his actions had ruined their relationship beyond repair. Lucius doubted that the potions master would ever be able to forgive himself. Even if it seemed that at the moment he was desperately grasping onto his previous views of the boy, and was treating him harshly, Lucius understood why. The man didn’t want to admit to himself that he had been pretty much abusing his son for years. If he acknowledged the fact that his behaviour had been wrong then he would have to deal with the guilt. And right now Severus was doing everything he could to avoid that outcome. But Lucius knew that eventually Severus would see the error in his ways, and when he did then they would be in for one hell of a guilt trip.

Stepping towards Cerin, Lucius held him firmly before disapparating, he knew that when someone apparated for the first time it felt horrible. Like you were being squeezed into an impossibly small tube, then turned inside out, only to be hastily turned the right side in again, before being thrown to the ground. The only way he knew to help with the feeling was to stand close to an experienced apparator and let them take the brunt of the apparition force for you, he would try and protect his son to the best of his abilities.

Upon landing Cerin stumbled but was caught in time by Lucius’ strong grip. It was taking everything he had not to flinch away, he didn’t like people touching him, especially men. Hell, it had even taken him around two years to be comfortable with Hermione’s over exuberant, and deadly, hugs. As soon as Lucius released his hold he moved away. Another pop indicated the arrival of Draco and Snape, Sirius and Remus would be side-alonged by Narcissa and a house elf. The two other cracks of apparition didn’t even register within Cerin’s hearing. He was too preoccupied staring at the hall he was standing in.   
It was easily the size of Hogwart’s entrance hall, but whereas the floor at Hogwarts was stone, here it was the finest grey marble, with midnight blue veins running through it in an undetectable pattern. Directly ahead of him were two grand staircases leading to the upper floors of the manor. The steps were of the same marble but the banister was of a deep mahogany, glistening brightly under the light of the exceedingly large crystal chandelier, which hung from the ceiling. It was beautiful. Never in his life had Cerin seen anything so magnificent or decadent. He had thought that Hogwarts was impressive, but it couldn’t hold a candle to this place. And this was were he was going to live, this wonderful palace.

He suddenly felt out of his depths, how could he, a boy who had lived in a cupboard under the stairs for ten years, ever be worthy of living here? He couldn’t believe his luck, he was being taken away from his relative’s hellhole to be brought to this sumptuous manor. Cerin hoped that his life here would not resemble what it had at the Dursley’s. After everything that had happened in his shitty life, he couldn’t deal with any more beatings or… or any of that other thing his uncle liked to do to him. It made him sick to even think about it. Many a night he had cried himself to sleep after one of Vernon’s late night visits. Out of everything they had done to him, that was definitely the worst. The beatings, the starvation, the neglect, the verbal abuse, all of that Cerin thought that he could maybe have dealt with, but what his uncle did was beyond vile. When he was allowed to shower during the summer he would turn the water on as high as it could go and then scrub his skin furiously to try and get his taint of him. He would often scrub until he bled, but even then he could never get rid of the feeling of being dirty and used, that seemed to permeate his every pore.  
Self harming was the only way he had found to make himself feel even remotely better. He knew it wasn’t a good idea, and he knew it wouldn’t make his problems go away, but how could he deny himself one of the few pleasures he had in his life? If he were being honest with himself, if he hadn’t found self harming as a coping mechanism for all the shit that happened to him, then Cerin wasn’t sure if he would still be alive today. And that thought scared the living daylights out of him. He didn’t want to admit it, even to himself, that he wanted to die. So he went on with his life, playing the Golden Boy role even as he crumbled inside.

Before his morbid thoughts could drag Cerin into an even darker contemplation of his life, and the ending of said life, the voice of his brother broke him out of his spiralling thoughts.  
“So Cerin, are you ready to explore your new home?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all my lovely reviewers, and everyone who subscribes/kudos this story. I have a question: Do you want Cerin to be gay? Please tell me your opinions in your reviews. Can’t wait to read them!


	8. Malfoy Manor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Description of self-harm scars/cuts, possible triggers.

The tour of the house, well manor or even palace would be more appropriate, had seemed to last an eternity. But really, who on earth needed 88 bedrooms, 97 bathrooms, 3 grand ballrooms, 2 small ballrooms, 12 studies, 24 entertainment rooms, and a plethora of other things Cerin couldn’t even begin to try and remember. Finally Draco led him to what was to be his room for the rest of his stay at the manor. Cerin was pleasantly surprised to see the décor, soft blues and greens with leather furniture tastefully scattered around the room. He had been expecting slytherin colours, green and silver, and probably lots of black, but this, this was much more up Cerin’s street.  
“Tomorrow we’ll have some house elves come up and you can tell them how you would like to decorate the room.”  
“That really won’t be necessary Draco.”  
“Nonsense, it’s customary for all family members to personalize their rooms, I’ll show you mine tomorrow, it’s just down the hall from yours. We are currently in the east wing, it’s always reserved for family, Severus and father’s bedroom is on the opposite side of the hall, three rooms down. Mother’s room is the last door on the right. If you need anything don’t be afraid to go and knock, they truly don’t mind if we go and see them. Although always make sure to knock. Once when I was a kid I just walked into Sev and dad’s room, well… just trust me, you definitely don’t want to see your parent’s doing that. “  
Cerin blushed when the implication of what Draco had just told him sunk in. Oh god, bad mental image, nobody ever wanted to imagine their parents in such a… compromising situation.  
“Well I’ll just leave you to get settled in, normally breakfast is served at 9, but seeing as this has been a particularly stressful day, I doubt anyone will be up early. I guess we’ll all just make our way down when we’re ready. If you need help getting anywhere just call a house elf, although I’m sure your wolf could help you find your way down to the breakfast room with his sense of smell.”  
Cerin turned to Val, seeing the great beast curled up in front of the fireplace, he was happy that the manor was so grand and that all the doors were so large, otherwise he would have had to spend his time enlarging doors, and he would bet his right arm that that would have gotten old very quickly.  
“Thanks Draco, for everything.”  
“Hey look, Cerin, it’s fine don’t mention it. We’re family now, that means we stick together.”  
“Yeah, that sounds good. See you tomorrow.”  
Sensing a dismissal Draco quietly left the room, closing the door with a soft click. 

Sighing in relief at finally being left alone, Cerin turned to his pet. “Well Val, I guess it’s just you and me now.” Said wolf just snorted gently and padded over to his human, placing his great head on the small teenager’s shoulder. Reaching up a hand Cerin gently carded his hands through the soft fur. Glad to be allowed some time alone with his thoughts. It was an odd situation he often found himself in; craving company yet fearing being alone with any one person and also resenting their presence intruding in his personal space. Having Valerius was a godsend; the wolf would always stay by his side he knew, never judging him or demanding anything of him. To Val he wasn’t Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, or the Chosen One, he was just Cerin, his bonded human, and that was exactly how he wanted it to be.  
Deciding to explore his new quarters, Cerin ventured through an open door, finding a bathroom the size of the prefects one in Hogwarts he was shocked. It was bloody huge, he could easily fit himself along with the whole quidditch inside the tub comfortably, with room to spare! The tiles were a mix of pale blue and gold, little patterns scattered here and there to represent some underwater scene. Turning the water on as high as it would go, he tried flicking on a few taps to see what sort of water they would give. After opening a few he finally decided on a mix of an apple scented foam and just plain old water.

Spelling his clothes off, Cerin hesitated for a moment, was it alright for him to let down his glamours? To be on the safe side he decided to add some locking spells on his door, including a spell that would alert him if anyone approached his room with intent to enter it. It was a handy spell he had discovered a few years back whilst rummaging through the restricted section one night searching for information on werewolves after his too close for comfort encounter with Moony. Boy was he glad that the Malfoy’s had wards up that prevented the ministry from detecting the different types of magic used in the house and grounds, meaning that it also blocked the ministry from receiving any notifications of underage magic having been performed.  
Deeming it safe, he let his glamours fall, turning to the full-length mirror on the other wall he was horrified. How could he look like this? You could see nearly all of his bones sticking through his skin, remnants of bruises lingered on his skin, curling around his hips and circling his upper arms. Yet it was his legs, the stick like things, which drew Cerin’s gaze. They were littered with red and white marks, he was somewhat, but not overly worried, to notice that the marks seemed to be getting larger and deeper, healing more slowly. Staring at his skin, he was oddly satisfied, happy to know that he was the one to do this to himself, not anyone else, no, he controlled his own body, he was the master of it, and these scars were proof of his control. He was proud, and wasn’t that a sickening thought? Cerin knew he really shouldn’t be, that these red trails running up and down his thighs should never have been there in the first place, that he was sick, a freak for even wanting them and thinking that they were even remotely beautiful.  
Turning away from his own reflection Cerin climbed into the bath, hissing through clenched teeth as the scalding water ran over his fresh wounds. God, he always forgot how much that hurt. He decided to stretch his muscled and did a few laps in the bath, which really could be considered a pool. He was surprised how quickly he tired, he knew he was out of shape, but he never thought it’d be that bad. Settling on one of the submerged benched at one end of the pool he reached for some of the different products he saw resting at the edge of the tub. He honestly had no idea what to do with all of his hair, he wasn’t used to it being this long. Looking at the bottles he saw one that said shampoo for long hair, well he knew what shampoo was and how to use it so that wasn’t a problem, what was a problem was realizing that he had just managed to tangle his hair into one great big messy knot. Searching around he finally saw what he was looking for conditioner, he normally didn’t use any, but he guessed the house elves must have prepped the bathroom for him. Reading the instructions on the back he did as they said and was pleasantly surprised when he rinsed his hair out it felt like a smooth curtain of silk running through his fingers. After thoroughly scrubbing his skin until it was tinged pink, Cerin scrambled out of the bath, drying himself of with the fluffiest and luxurious towels he had ever felt. It was like holding warm clouds, Cerin thought goofily. Stepping back into his room he noticed that his items had been unpacked and that a pair of pyjamas were laid out on his bed. The thought of house elves having been in his room was slightly scary, but he was reassured by the thought that they would never directly show themselves to him or interrupt him unless he called for them. Satisfied, Cerin changed into what felt like silk, dark green pyjamas. Looking at the bed, Cerin was overcome with the thought that the Malfoy’s really didn’t know how to do anything in moderation. His bed was the size of three king beds put together, he wondered why anyone would ever need that much place. Slipping beneath the sheets he was amazed at the softness of the mattress and the covers, it was being enveloped in a comforting embrace. Using his wand he dimmed the lights, preparing to drift of into sleep. Before he could properly get settled however he felt a heavy wait disturb him, Val had joined him joined him. Turning to the black wolf he buried himself in the soft fur, glad to be protected in this unfamiliar environment. Oh, thought Cerin, the bed was made this large to accommodate a giant wolf, right before sleep overtook him.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Waking up to soft light filtering through the heavy drapes blocking the view of the garden Cerin had from his window, he was struck with the thought that this was one of the best nights sleep he had had in a long time. He had only woken up twice due to his nightmares, once of Vernon, and the other of Cedric and Voldemort’s resurrection. Yet when he had awoken he had quickly been brought back to reality by the warm presence of Valerius lying next to him, and gently nuzzling his hair in an effort to bring him to full awareness and out of his nightmare fuelled panic. Casting Tempus, he saw it was just after seven in the morning, this was much later then Cerin usually awoke, but maybe that was just due to him being unable to fall back to sleep after he recovered from his night terrors. Deciding that he had laid about quite long enough he got up and dressed in one of his better outfits that he had gotten whilst also shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley. 

He re-applied his glamour’s, and brushed his hair into a smooth cascade, before trying to braid it to the best of his ability. Seeing that he was failing miserably he called on a house elf. “Erm, could I have a house elf come help me please?” He asked softly, feeling a bit silly speaking to thin air. He didn’t have the time to regret his decision as a loud pop signaled the house elf’s arrival. “Good morning young Master Malfoy-Snapes sir, what can Mopsy bes doing for you sirs?” Cerin stared at the female elf, well at least he thought she was a girl, judging by the pink boys that were tied around her floppy ears. “Um, hi, would you be able to help me try and braid my hair please Mopsy? I seem to be dreadful at it.” The little elf’s eyes went wide at her master’s request, he was so polite to house elves. The rumours about the Potter- now Malfoy-Snape boy- were true, he truly was an amazing person to the house elves. “Of course young master, yous just be sitting down on a chair and Mopsy bes doing your hair for you.” She added enthusiastically. The current mistress of the house rarely required a house elf’s help for her morning preparations; it was good to be able to do something she enjoyed so much.  
Cerin sat down somewhat awkwardly, the tiny elf fluttering around his head, it definitely felt odd being looked after like this. After what mustn’t have been more then a minute Mopsy moved away from him nodding in satisfaction. “What does Master’s think of his hair?” She asked somewhat boldly, but this boy seemed to genuinely care for her opinion and didn’t seem the type of wizard to mind if she spoke to him without having been asked a question first.  
Looking at his reflection Cerin was surprised to note that he looked rather like one of the elves out of the Lord of the Rings movies. He had had the rare opportunity to see the movie as the whole Dursley family had been watching them yet had fallen asleep, Cerin had taken the chance and stayed hidden in the corridor watching the amazing story whilst his relatives slumbered on. It was one of the only films he had ever seen when staying with his ‘family’. His black locks were completely out of the way, one central braid running down his back whilst two locks from the front of his head had been made into smaller plaits and then been joined into the larger braid. He had thought he might look effeminate but he liked the way this hairstyle complemented his new face. Cerin knew he would never be handsome, he knew he was a runt and a freak, but still having properly kempt hair for once wouldn’t hurt would it?  
“It’s lovely Mopsy thank you, can I count on you to help me with my hair from now on, and maybe could you teach me the basics of how to braid hair? “  
“Oh young master, Mopsy be very happy to teach yous how to braids your hair.”  
“Thank you Mopsy, that means a lot to me, now would it be possible for you to show me and Val the way to breakfast, I don’t really remember much from the tour I had yesterday.”  
“Yes sir, young master sir. Just be following Mopsy and I’s be showing yous the way.”  
With those words Cerin was led down a series of corridors and staircases until they finally arrived at one of the smaller dining rooms, laid out before him were almost all of the breakfast foods he could possibly imagine. Bacon, sausages, eggs, toast and hash browns, whilst pancakes, yoghurt, muesli, fresh fruit, croissants, anything and everything he had ever dreamt of were ready for consumption.  
“Thank you Mopsy this looks delicious, but do you think you could bring something for Valerius, I’m not too sure what I should feed him but I’m betting on something like raw steak or chicken. And could you also bring a bowl full of water please.”  
“Mopsy bes coming right back young master sirs.”  
“That would be brill Mopsy but you really don’t need to call me ‘young master’ or ‘sir’ all the time, Cerin is fine.”

Since Cerin had turned and started to go and seat himself, he didn’t see the astonished look on the elf’s face, or the large green eyes shining with barely withheld tears. Mopsy just couldn’t believe how nice the new master was. Yes, her other masters were nice, but none of them treated her as nicely as the new young master. Oh, she couldn’t wait to go and tell all the other elves, they would be so jealous that she was the first one to have gotten to meet him. She disappeared with a soft pop, not wanting to disturb the young sir.

Cerin meanwhile had sat down and was absentmindedly stroking Val’s fur, the beast huffing appreciatively whenever Cerin got the spot right were his soft ears joined his skull. When Mopsy reappeared it was with a bowl full of fresh water and a raw, juicy steak, which Val promptly tore into with gusto. Thanking the elf, Cerin went back to his musing. You see, he was faced with a dilemma, should he start eating or should he wait for his family. Logically he knew that he probably didn’t have to wait, that they surely wouldn’t mind if he had started without them, yet the small voice in the back of his head, which was a reminder of his time at the Dursleys, was telling not to touch a thing. He didn’t know the rules of the house yet. What if they did take offense and decide they didn’t want him anymore, or if they thought he was an uncultured pig and couldn’t bear to even look at his disgusting self. No, he couldn’t and wouldn’t risk loosing his family, he would just sit ad wait for one of them to come down and explain to him the different rules that they upheld in the household. He just hoped they wouldn’t take to long in rising, he was getting hungry.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

It was after an hour of sitting in silence, his only company that of Valerius’ sleepy form, before Cerin heard another person moving towards the breakfast room. Urgh, he should have thought this through more carefully, what if it was Snape that walked through the door and they sit their awkwardly, neither of them saying anything, just sitting and staring at each other. Cerin could practically imagine the loathing he would be able to feel directed at him through the potion master’s gaze. When the door opened and he saw a feminine figure step through the entryway he heaved a sigh of relief, at least he wouldn’t have to sit with a man that hated him.  
“Cerin dear, I wasn’t expecting to see you up so early. If you were anything like Draco, I thought I would have to drag you out of bed whilst you looked and acted like a bear that had just come out of hibernation. Well, we’ll have one more early riser to add to the family; usually it’s just Severus and I up this early in the day. Draco and Lucius are definitely not morning people. “  
Cerin found himself smiling shyly at lady Malfoy, surprised that she would joke so lightly of her family. If it were aunt Petunia he were sat next to –fat chance of that, the only time he got to sit at the table was when there were guests that knew of his existence, which was extremely rare- she would be going on and on about how her ‘Dudders’ was the most perfect boy to have ever graced the earth. That his mere presence would cause flowers to sprout and birds to sing, he was an angel, and wouldn’t so much as hurt a fly. It was a shame really that his aunt seemed to have no idea that she had married a sadistic whale of a man who enjoyed hitting young children, and that her son was becoming an almost exact replica of him.  
“Well I’m not one for sleeping in late, it just feels as if most of the day is wasted whenever I do that. But Cerin, how long have you been up for?”  
“Not long, just a few minutes ago, I had Mopsy show me the way here and get some food for Val. I hope you don’t mind?” He asked unsurely, he hoped it was okay that he had taken some of their food to give to Valerius.  
“That’s fine dear, now why don’t we get started, I think Lucius and Severus should be joining us soon. Serve yourself, and if there’s anything you would like that isn’t served here feel free to ask, I’m sure the house elves could whip it up for us no time.”  
“Thank you Narcissa.” And wasn’t that weird, calling her Narcissa instead of Mrs. Malfoy, but it was worth it to see the small upturning of the corners of her mouth at this address, maybe she really didn’t like it when he called her Mrs. Malfoy.

They ate in companionable silence, Cerin still too nervous to eat much, not to mention that his stomach couldn’t handle heavy foods and that he was still getting used to eating normal sized portions. Of course Narcissa, being the shrewd woman that she was noticed, however she was a true slytherin and knew that mentioning anything now might make Cerin uncomfortable, it could also be a one-time thing. So she would wait and observe, reserving her judgment for a later date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all you reviewers for answering my question asked in my last chapter, the results are in and Cerin will most definitely be gay (although it’s not set to happen for a long time). A big thank you also to my followers and favouriters, it really means the world to me. Now to my question: Who should Cerin be paired with? I can’t wait to hear your suggestions. Please review, follow and favourite!


	9. Nature's Calling

Lucius Malfoy was not a morning person, so being in a relationship with a potions master whose job often required him to be up at ridiculous hours was somewhat of a problem. That was why the blond was surprised when he awoke to find his bonded sleeping peacefully beside him. Reaching for his wand and casting a quick tempus, he was shocked to realize that it was almost half past eight. Thinking back on the previous day’s events, he was unsurprised at his tiredness and subsequent sleeping in. Turning to Severus, he gazed adoringly at his partner, their life would finally be complete, he could feel it down to his very core. Their son was home, everything would soon be sorted with the ministry and the last of the Death Eaters would be rounded up. He could live his life in relative peace, he knew that when one had two teenage sons, one who he had just learned about and was a wood elf, would make his life interesting for the next few years, to say the least.   
Reaching across the small amount of space, he gently shook Severus, rousing him gently.  
“Lucius, why did you wake me up?” Severus asked somewhat blearily. “Let me sleep for Merlin’s sake.”  
“But Severus, what about our son?”  
“Draco, what about him? If you woke me up just so we can go and take embarrassing pictures of him sleeping again, the answer is no.”  
“No love, our other son, Cerin.”  
And that’s when the past days events suddenly burst into the forefront of one potion’s master’s mind. “Oh Merlin, Lucius, he’s back, he’s really back, our child!”  
“I know, you numpty, now shall we go downstairs and see if our sons are awake?” And with those words and a chaste kiss, both wizards got dressed and made their way to the informal dinning room.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Cerin and Narcissa had been enjoying their breakfast in companionable silence, Valerius lying sprawled over the young wizards feet, providing a very handy source of warmth for the teen, who had always struggled to keep warm. Cerin thought it probably had to do with him being underweight all his life; no meat on his bones to keep him warm. Even lost in his own thoughts, he still heard the telltale creaking of floorboards that announced the arrival of another person. Thinking about it, his hearing was now much improved to what it had been, must be a side effect of being a wood elf, he thought morosely. Why couldn’t he ever be normal? Now not only was he the long lost son of Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, but he was also a wood elf, his life just kept on getting better. At least he had Val to keep him company.  
It was right about then that his fathers, and wasn’t that a weird thought, walked into the room. It made Cerin’s heart clench somewhat painfully when he saw the brilliant smile that stretched over the usual stoic features of one Lucius Malfoy when he set eyes on him. Could he really be the reason that the man was looking at him with such love and adoration? Surely not, just look at Snape his face was the same as always, blank. What Cerin failed to notice was the pride and love shining hidden in those dark eyes. Severus had led a hard life, and showing such emotion to someone who he had previously loathed was going to take some getting used to.  
“Good morning Narcissa, Cerin,” the Malfoy lord said whilst seating himself at the table directly across from his son, Narcissa having taken the seat at the head of the table. “ I hope you all slept well?” he enquired politely, sticking to the rules of pureblood hospitality for want of a better idea on how to deal with a son he had only discovered the day before. Sharing a look with Narcissa the blond surreptitiously nodded to the young man, now staring intensely at is food, trying to avoid any form of eye contact, the message was clear, how is he? When Narcissa only looked worriedly back, he decided that a more direct approach was needed.   
“So Cerin, how do you like the manor? Is your room suitable, if not I’m sure we could find some time today to redecorate it.”  
“It’s fine sir, truly, thank you for letting me stay in your home, it’s very beautiful.”  
“Nonsense Cerin” Lucius said “This is also your home now, there is no reason for you not to stay here.  
“Thank you sir.”  
“And Cerin, you really don’t need to call me sir, just Lucius will be fine.” Seeing a timid nod come from the boy, he went on to serve himself and Severus, he having sat down next to the blond, observing his child. The boy was acting different then his brash usual self at Hogwarts, but the new and foreign environment along with the events of the previous day could explain that.  
“I expect Draco won’t be up before around 10 at the earliest, that boy sleeps like the dead, it’s a miracle how he ever manages to wake up.” Severus spoke in a soft voice, “So I was thinking Cerin that your father and I could take you out into the forest and introduce you to some of your new elfin powers. We already know of some of the changes related to your inheritance and will be able to guide you through those, but for some of the precise details, I fear we will have to do some research before we can properly answer all of your questions.”  
“Thank you sir, that sounds fine.” And with those words the boy went back to staring at his plate and absently stroking Val’s fur.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

A few hours later, after one very sleepy and grumpy Draco had dragged himself downstairs where he promptly proceeded to eat as much food as he was available; Cerin, Lucius, and Severus made their way to the Malfoy grounds, upon which resided one of the most ancient forests in Britain.  
“Now Cerin, as a wood elf, you will always feel comfortable surrounded by nature. Most wood elves also have an affinity with one or more of the elements, or a variation of one of the elements. As you have probably guessed, Valerius is your spirit animal, and will be your companion for the rest of your life. I’d say that he’s almost a fully grown adult judging by his size, but be warned that he still may grow a good few inches yet.” Cerin nodded, taking it all in, listening to Severus’ instructions. “Now Cerin I want you to sit on the forest floor and close your eyes.” Seeing his son’s hesitant look he added somewhat exasperatedly “Lucius and I are here Cerin, we won’t leave you and neither will Valerius, you have nothing to be afraid of. Now close your eyes and breathe in and put deeply.” But what Severus didn’t understand was that Cerin wasn’t scared of his parents leaving him, he was scared of them staying. Having two fully-grown men standing over him when his eyes were closed and he was defenseless was not his idea of fun. What if they decided to attack him, he was in the middle of nowhere where no one could ever come and help him. He probably would have tried to put off this weird training session if it weren’t for Val’s muzzle that started nudging his face affectionately. Laughing slightly, he gently pushed away the giant head, smirking at the put out look that now adorned the wolf’s face. How he could tell that Val looked put out, he didn’t know. But he could pretty much tell all of the animal’s emotions, just another part of being an elf he guessed.  
Sighing, Cerin sat down and closed his eyes, breathing deeply just as Severus had instructed, Val laying his great head on his lap.  
“Now try and reach out with your mind to the forest around you.”  
Even though this definitely was not Cerin’s cup of tea, he didn’t see any alternative, so reaching out with his newly sharpened senses he tried to feel the world around him. What he sensed was amazing, he could feel in which direction the wind was blowing, know the position of the sun even whilst sitting there under the thick forest canopy, and the life. The forest was absolutely abuzz with living beings, the birds in the trees, the insects burrowing under the ground, and a herd of dear munching peacefully on some blackberries no more than two miles away. This was amazing, he felt so whole, at peace, like he was finally   
somewhere that he could belong.

Unbeknownst to the teenager the forest was coming to life around him, the trees, barren from the beginning of the winter months suddenly sprouted leaves, butterflies erupted out of their hidden cocoons, and bowtruckles, notoriously secretive creatures, approached the entranced figure.   
Severus and Lucius could only watch on in shock at such a display of magical power, no one had seen elves for many years now, and wizards had believed them extinct. They were amazed that their son was lucky enough to have inherited such awe inspiring powers, and both men sincerely hoped that they would be able to guide him through the troubling times ahead.   
Not wanting to disturb their son when he looked so at peace, they went to sit against a tree, just enjoying each other’s company. It had been a long time since they had been able to truly just sit in peace, without having to worry about Voldemort and the war. And now they had their child back.  
Turing to Severus, Lucius started of gravely, “You know people are going to be looking for him soon, don’t you? And what are we going to do then, we can’t shield him from the world forever, and there is a veritable storm of hatred waiting for us outside of these wards.”   
“I understand that love, but can you blame them? for years they thought we were Death Eaters, the scum of the earth that wanted to see them and their families dead…”  
“No Severus, you can’t think like that, you are a good man, you always have been. What we did was all working towards his downfall. Don’t you dare tell me, tell us, that what those imbeciles outside think, is true. We know what we sacrificed, when we slaved under that madman for years. Yet they know nothing, what do you think gives them the right to judge us? Whilst they lay at home in their beds, having nightmares of what could happen to their families, we were living that nightmare. And so help me Merlin, if you ever so much as imply ever again that what the idiotic public might think is justified then I’m not sure I will ever be able to forgive you.”  
“Alright, I’m sorry, it’s just difficult… Everything’s been happening so fast, and… I’m lost Lucius, I’m not sure I know who I am anymore. For years Luce, years I treated my own son like dirt. I loathed him, Luce, and I made sure at every occasion that I could that he be aware of it. And now when I look at him and I see the eyes of our little baby boy looking back at me, it’s like a knife is being plunged into my chest and twisted until it feels like I can’t breathe. He just looks so lost, and I want to take him in my arms and tell him that everything will be all right, and that nothing can hurt him anymore! But I can’t! I can’t Lucius! And it’s killing me, god it’s killing me that I still doubt whether the boy is actually a spoiled rotten prince, that I doubt if he really isn’t a snot nosed brat. And I can’t make it all go away, I can’t just kiss it all better, those years are gone now, and I’m never going to get those fourteen years back. And I just don’t know what to do, Lucius, I just don’t know what to do…”  
Standing up and walking towards his husband who had started pacing halfway through his tirade, the Malfoy lord gently took the black haired man into his arms and held him. Neither man said anything for a while, not wanting to break the silence that had formed between them; but when Severus sighed and went to sit back against the tree, Lucius slid down next to him, and whispered comfortingly in his ear. “It’s alright love, I don’t know what we’re going to do, or what’s going to happen either. And you’re not the only one who’s scared, I’m terrified, but I’m sure we can work it out together. And when it comes to Cerin, well you’ll just have to get to know our son all over again, won’t you?”  
“Oh joy” added Snape with a slight sneer “I get to spend time with another teenage boy whose only interests are quidditch and girls.”  
“Now now Severus, in all honesty we weren’t much better, except for me and you it wasn’t girls we were thinking of was it?” he added with a sly smirk gracing his features.  
“Lucius, now is definitely not the time for a shag, I mean our fifteen year old son is lying not five meters away from us. Get your head out of the gutter man.”  
“You’re no fun” the blond said, a pout adorning his aristocratic features, “but as soon as I get you alone, I’m going to make you so crazy for me, you won’t even remember your own name.” At those words the usually stoic potion’s master gulped, his husband sure was a handful when he put his mind to it.  
After their conversation, they settled down and waited for their son to break out of his meditative trance.

It was a few hours later that Cerin finally had explored all of the forest that he could perceive from his position sat under an ancient oak tree. It had truly been an eye opening experience, he could sense almost everything, and better yet, he could understand all of it1 Form the way a squirrel stored its nuts for the winter, or how a tree’s life cycle worked. He couldn’t wait to come back and explore other areas of the forest soon, and see what the it had in store for him. Looking around him he saw his parents leaning against a tree, apparently having fallen asleep at some time. He wondered how long he had been out for them to succumb to slumber. So much for guarding him against any evil, but at least Val was there. Gently nudging the wolf’s head of his lap he stood, and quietly made his way over to his fathers. He was about to reach out and try and shake them awake before thinking better of it. He was getting to confident, to cocky. If this were uncle Vernon he would have never even thought of waking him up, never mind by shaking him. No matter how nice these people had been to him, you could never be to sure. Stepping back he decided that just trying to wake them by calling their names was a good idea. After trying and being unsuccessful, mostly due to Cerin not being able to dig up the courage to actually say their names at more then a whisper, he gathered all of his little remaining courage and called out their names. In hindsight Cerin realised that what he thought would be him saying their names at a normal level, actually came out sounding rather like a startled shout. So it was with no great surprise that the wizard’s reactions were to draw their wands at being awoken in such a frightening manner.   
Cerin’s first reaction was to flinch, but it wasn’t such an odd instinct considering that he had two fully trained and very dangerous wizards pointing their wands at them. As soon as Severus and Lucius noticed whom it was they were pointing their wands out they put them away. Horrified at almost having hexed their son; turning back to him they saw that he was huddle behind Valerius who was glaring at them angrily, obviously annoyed at them for scaring his friend.   
Placing his hands up in front of him for the universal sign of surrender Lucius carefully approached the great wolf. “Cerin, are you all right? We’re sorry we drew our wands on you, we were just shocked, can you come out from behind Val please? We swear we aren’t going to harm you.”  
Cerin cautiously inched himself from behind his wolf, he didn’t want to make his parents too suspicious of his behavior. If he hesitated any longer it would look odd; so he locked all of his emotions behind his mask and went to face his parents.  
“Uh, yeah, I’m really sorry about scaring you like that, I was just trying to wake you up. It’s getting dark out and I was thinking that it’s probably a good idea to start heading back.”  
“Of course Cerin, Lucius and I also apologise for drawing our wands on you, but hopefully next time you won’t feel the need to shout at us to make us wake up.”  
Seeing Cerin blush but otherwise remain unfazed by such comments, Lucius decided that enough was enough, and that they should all just slowly make their way to the manor. After voicing his thoughts to his child and companion they all acquiesced and walked towards their home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this took so long, but another update is on the way soon after this one. Please keep on reviewing, favoriting and following; your support is very much appreciated. As to anyone wanting to draw any fan art about my fic I would be honored, just please send me a link so I can check it out. Thank you to everyone for reading! Question: Who would you like Draco to end up with? I’m feeling in a match maker-y mood.


	10. The Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Graphic description of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, mentions of rape and violence

The trudge back to the manor was filled with a pregnant silence that weighed down heavily on all three men. Cerin was more then happy to rush back into the relative safety of the manor, walking as quickly as he could to the haven of his room. He didn’t see the worried looks his parents sent his way.  
He couldn’t help the fact that people made him nervous; all his life had been spent being pursued by mad men who wanted nothing better than to see him dead.   
Before he turned down a corridor, which he hopped would bring him back to his room a voice caught his attention.   
“Cerin, dinner is served at seven, please do join us then, Draco and Narcissa haven’t seen much of you yet, and I’m sure we’d all appreciate and enjoy your company.” Lucius was satisfied at seeing the terse nod directed at him, watching with a small amount of sorrow as his son walked away from them as quickly as possible without it being deemed impolite. Severus and he had both noticed that however much their child tried to hide it he was not comfortable in their presence, and both were worried at what was causing such an extreme reaction. Hopefully he was just shy and nervous around his new family, although the longer they spent with the young man, the least likely this theory seemed. They hadn’t survived as spies for the Order for so long without being the best at what they did; and the dark haired potions master and his bonded knew something was deeply wrong, they just couldn’t figure out what it was yet. Time would tell anyway, it always did.

HPHPHP

Cerin felt lost, he didn’t know what he was going to do with his life, to be honest he wasn’t sure if it was worth it to go on living. He didn’t want to die per say, he just didn’t want to be alive. Life was cruel, he should know, he had lived through hell, only to come out more broken and battered each time. Whoever had said ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ obviously had no idea what he was talking about.  
All of his near death experiences had left him longing for only one thing, oblivion. He didn’t believe in God, or heaven and hell; and thank Merlin for that, for the teen was sure that if he did believe in some form of eternal judgment, then he would be condemned to an eternity in the underworld for his sins. He couldn’t bare the thought of his parents – well who he had thought were his parents- being able to see what his life had become. He was a stain on their good name, a reject and a freak, unworthy of their love, of anyone’s love. He couldn’t understand why his real parents would want him, he was disgusting, and he just knew that if they ever found out about his secrets that they would throw him out on his arse and say ‘good riddance’, for no one wanted him, no one had ever wanted him, whether he was Harry, or Cerin; he had always been unlovable. He was destined to remain forever alone; and that was all right with him, he had come to terms with it, even. In fact he didn’t think he would mind it that much, after of all, if he remained alone there would be no one to torment him, no one to break his bones, and beat him into submission, no Uncle Vernon to mercilessly rape him until his throat was hoarse from his screams and his pleas for him to stop, for mercies sake, please Uncle, please just stop.  
And anyway his task was done; he could die happily knowing that he had protected the ones he loved, even if his fake parents and Cedric had slipped through the cracks. He was certain he wouldn’t be missed, his new parents would probably be glad to be rid of him; he was a burden and a waste of space after all, that lesson had been properly beaten into him, he would never forget it.

Undressing in his ridiculously oversized bathroom the boy stared at his emaciated frame in detached horror and revulsion. He resembled a skeleton, what little flesh he had left clinging to his bones in some futile attempt at trying to keep him warm and alive.   
Cerin didn’t even feel the gnawing hunger that used to torment him, that would fill his every waking moment when he was a young child, locked in his cupboard. He had learned early on that his pleas for food would just result in him being left alone for longer bouts of time to suffer the starvation, and would also occasionally merit a beating. Of course freaks were meant to be seen and not heard was one of his uncle’s most favourite idioms, and if Uncle Vernon had had his way, he would never have been seen either.

No, Cerin just felt tired, so god damn weary of the world that seemed to want to beat him down at any given opportunity.   
Reaching into one of the many cupboards scattered around the room he retrieved his special knife, which he had hidden inside one of the multitude of soft white towels, he had never experienced such luxury as this, and was still unsure about what to do with himself in such a grand place.  
Looking at the self inflicted scars that littered his body he felt oddly satisfied and proud; choosing not to dwell on his confusing emotions, he focused on pressing the carefully honed blade to the already damaged expanse of skin on his upper thigh.   
Exerting even the smallest amount of pressure he could feel the cold bite and sting that resulted in the parting of his skin and a small stream of blood to trickle across his unnaturally pale skin, traveling down his leg until it dripped onto the previously pristine marble floor. At first only a few drops, mimicking the beginnings of an autumn shower, creeping up slowly, and leaving the spectator unaware before the floodgates opened and all hell would break loose.  
As if in a trance, the teen continued this process mechanically until the area around him was tinted red and he had started to feel dizzy, he wasn’t sure if it was from the blood loss or the lack of food. To be honest, he didn’t particularly care either way.

Finally feeling calmer and more in control of himself and his emotions, Cerin carefully cleaned the blade of all traces of blood by hand, a ritual he had perfected until his movements were flawless and practiced. The stains on the floor he merely vanished with a flick of his wand, uncaring at the sight of his life’s blood disappearing. Summoning bandages he proceeded to carefully wrap his leg tightly, he didn’t always bother to do this, he preferred to know that his wounds remained untreated, penitence for his crimes, and a method of calming his often-spiraling emotions.   
However this time some of the cuts were too deep, and if he didn’t tend to them they would stain his clothes and might arouse suspicion with his family if they saw the dirtied clothing.  
Feeling exhausted Cerin exited the bathroom, encountering a worried looking Valerius who whined softly at him and huffed at his hair before nudging the boy towards the bed and laying down next to him. Cerin felt safe when he shuffled as close to his wolf as was humanly possible, at the moment one of his only reasons for living was Val, the beast was his only true friend, even though he had known him for less time then any of his other friends, the bond that linked them together was just too strong, it was an almost tangible presence between them, bringing Cerin comfort in his dark state of mind.   
Finally succumbing to his exhaustion the elf fell into a fitful sleep. 

HPHPHPHP

The rest of Cerin’s family had gathered in one of the informal sitting rooms, the topic at hand being of course, the newest addition to their home. They were settled around the fireplace, their faces softly illuminated by the gentle glow of the flames and the chandelier that hung in the centre of the room. Severus was sat next to Draco, his son tucked against his body in a rare show of vulnerability and affection. Lucius and Narcissa were resting on a settee, placed opposite them, yet turned towards the roaring fir.  
Even immersed in their thoughts, they were all dwelling on one thing, Cerin; he had lead a difficult and had in fact just killed a man; granted said man had been trying to kill him for years, but the facts still remained the same. Most people needed time and space to digest what they had done, but Cerin just didn’t seem to be handling everything very well, if the teen continued to show signs of depression, for that was what it seemingly looked like, Severus and Lucius were resolved to confront their child, and if need be seek outside help.   
They were no mind healers, yes they had also gone through terrible things, had done terrible things, and may be able to empathise and understand their child up to a certain point, but they would not compare their ordeals to his. No two people thought in the exact same way, and if Cerin were truly suffering then they would not be foolish enough to try and sort everything out on their own if it became clear they were out of their depths. The health and safety of their child would always come first, even if it meant putting aside their pride and admitting they needed help to heal their son.

Turning to Draco, Lucius inquired softly. “Son, have you noticed anything different about Cerin this year, or even since he has come to stay with us, I understand that you haven’t seen much of him, but anything you might have noticed could be helpful. I imagine that you would probably notice different things then Severus, since he is your teacher and not your peer.”  
“Well he seems to hang out less with the other parts of the Golden Trio, although I guess the Weasel” at the disapproving look his mother gave him he quickly corrected himself “Err, Weasley isn’t really his friend anymore. As to more recently, he does seem a bit off, but I guess it’s most likely due to everything that’s happened to him.”   
“Well it’s probably a good idea if we all keep an eye on him, Draco, if you see anything that seems unusual to you, please tell one of us, we’re all worried about your brother.” Added Narcissa, trying to get the importance of her message across to Draco. If her suspicions were confirmed then Cerin would definitely need the help of a mind healer, she would just wait and observe before saying anything to Lucius or Severus, although she was sure that by now both of them surely shared some of her thoughts.

“Dragon, remember, you are also our son, and you are just as important as Cerin, and we love you just as much. You both hold equal places in our hearts. However at the moment Cerin needs a bit more of our attention, purely because he is going through a lot. We understand that you have also experienced difficult times, and we will always be here for you, you can always come see us with any of your problems and we will try our very best to help.”  
Draco nodded shyly at Severus’s words, it meant even more coming from him, considering he wasn’t his biological father, but that had never mattered in their family, he had always seen Severus as his father. “Thank you, I understand that Cerin will need some more looking after for the foreseeable future. I’ll look after him, he’s my little brother after all.” Narcissa looked on proudly at her son, he had matured so much recently, although it was sad that it had come about due to a war, no one should ever have to live through that.   
“Were is my little brother anyway, isn’t it soon time for dinner?”   
Checking the time and seeing that it was indeed soon approaching seven, Lucius turned to his son “Draco, would you mind going to get Cerin and show him to the dinning room, I’m sure he would appreciate someone other then the house elves guiding him around. Also just make sure he’s alright, I get the impression that’s he’s more comfortable around you and Narcissa then he is with Severus and I.”  
“Sure dad, no problem, we should be down in a few minutes.”

HPHPHPHP

Cerin had slowly drifted off to sleep, although somewhat reluctantly, he had been plagued by nightmares for the past few years, or maybe night terrors was a more accurate term. Right now he was tossing and turning in his sheets, small whimpers escaping him periodically, whilst Val watched over him, licking him gently in an attempt to rouse him from his slumber. The air around the elf was slowly starting to grow heavy with wild magic, Cerin’s uncontrolled power escaping his body and seeking out invisible enemies in his dream. 

Uncle Vernon stood braced above Cerin who was lying prone on the linoleum-covered floor of Number 4 Privet’s Drive corridor. “You little freak, how dare you try and steal food from the trash like some filthy animal, you ungrateful shit. We have fed and provided for you, given you a roof over your head, and this is how you repay us. You try and steal from us!”  
“No Uncle Vernon I swear I-I wasn’t going to…”  
“Don’t lie to me boy, you were going to eat it weren’t you” seeing his nephew shake his head in denial he grabbed the child and shook him violently, all the while roaring in his face “ You will tell me the truth or I will make you regret the day you were born.”  
“Uncle, I’m so sorry, I was just so hungry” Vernon’s face seemed to turn an even darker shade of red at his stuttering words, Cerin vaguely wondered if he would explode. He quickly had other things to think about as his uncle unbuckled his belt and proceeded to start hitting him repeatedly with the buckle. “This should teach you, you disgusting waste of space, you’ll never amount to anything, just like your parents. Although I might know one way in which you could be more useful to me.” With those words a vicious looking grin stretched his face grotesquely, he then reached down and started to unzip his trousers.

It was at this point that Cerin started screaming, both in his dream and in real life. Draco coming up the stairs to his brother’s room sprinted down the few remaining corridors, afraid that Death Eaters had somehow managed to break into the manor and attack his younger brother. Seeking retributions for the death of their master, oh Merlin he hopped it wasn’t someone like Bellatrix, if it were her, he would be lucky to even find Cerin in one piece, never mind alive.  
Bursting into the room wand at the ready Draco was stunned to see his brother writhing on the bed, alone, not under spell fire, seemingly trapped in the midst of a nightmare; Valerius perched protectively over the small body.   
Moving to the side of the four-poster he leaned over and tried calling to Cerin, seeing this tactic wasn’t working and wanting to wake him up so he could then go and get help of his parents, he made the mistake of touching the other teen’s skin. With the sound of a thunderclap, Draco was thrown bodily across the room, his body smacking into the wall with a sharp crack, before falling limply to the floor.

Meanwhile downstairs the adults suddenly felt a spike of wild magic, knowing they were alone in the manor apart for Cerin and Draco, they rushed to the younger’s room, hoping that everything was alright, and praying to Merlin and Morganna that their children were safe.  
When they entered Cerin’s room it was to see an unconscious and bleeding Draco sprawled on the ground, whilst their youngest was screaming bloody murder, lost within the confines of his own mind.  
Quickly assessing the situation, Severus began barking orders, “Narcissa, get Draco out of the room, gather the necessary potions from my stock and if need be contact Poppy, understood?” at her nod and her confident advance towards Draco he knew that his son would be in safe hands. The dark haired man then turned to his husband, “ We have to try and wake him up, his magic is only growing in power and I fear what may happen if it is released in it’s entirety.”   
“But how are we going to do that, based on how we found Draco I would say that he is subconsciously protecting himself by harming anyone who tries to touch him.”  
Severus grimaced at the very astute reasoning, it was imperative that the boy wake up. Looking around the room his mind finally registered the presence of Val, still lying next to their son. Well it seemed that it wasn’t impossible for everyone to get near their son, nonetheless it appeared that only a select few were permitted.   
“Severus, do you think if we tried to wrap our magic around Cerin’s it might work to calm him? I know for a fact that when wood elves are growing up, they often need their parent’s magic to act as a cocoon in-between it and the outside world. I know Cerin has never felt our magic act in such a way, but it is possible that his subconscious will recognize it from when he was a babe and react to it , or at least manage to calm him enough to wake him.”  
“Well it’s certainly worth a shot, better that then wait for him to bring the whole manor down on our heads.”  
At those words they linked hands and pushed their magic outwards from their bodies, focusing on layering it around Cerin’s still writhing form. It took a while but they could progressively feel the wild magic that was coming off the child slowly start die down, until it finally retreated back into the young man’s core. Both men sagged in relief at the sight, it wasn’t an easy task pushing one’s magic outside of one’s body, and if they hadn’t been together for so long, or if their magics hadn’t been so well matched, doing it in tandem would have been nigh on impossible.

Looking at their son, they saw he was no longer thrashing about like he had been before, but small whimpers still came from him fairly frequently. Moving forwards Lucius touched his son’s arm, glad when he wasn’t thrown away by their child’s magic. Shaking him gently and calling out his name, he waited with bated breath until twitching eyelids finally pealed open, showing storm grey eyes filled with such sorrow that even Lucius had rarely seen in his life.   
Both men were saddened to see that their son’s first instinct was to flinch away from them, cowering at the top of his bed, trying to protect his face and chest with his arms, curling up into the smallest ball possible, obviously trying to make himself less of a target to whatever person Cerin thought they were.  
Severus and Lucius wondered angrily about what kind of person had ingrained such reflexes into their child; and may god have mercy on their soul should they ever found out who it was; for they would not show that monster any quarter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who reads this story, and to all those who subscribe and give me kudos, as well as those who comment. You all make me so happy (especially comments). As to the plot of this story: Is there anything in particular any of you would like to see happen in this story? Leave your suggestions in your reviews and I will take them into consideration. Thank you everyone!


	11. Making Plans

Silence reigned as both men looked at each other in contemplation. “This can’t go on Sev. By now it’s pretty damn obvious that something is wrong, and we can’t just keep ignoring the signs or waiting for him to trust us and come to us with his problems. If we left it up to him I’m almost certain we’d never get anywhere.”

Severus sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose in reply.   
“What do you suppose we do then? Lock him in a room with us until he breaks and tells us what’s wrong? We aren’t equipped to deal with this Lucius, what can we conceivably do? We don’t even know what’s ailing him as the stubborn dunderhead won’t deign to unburden himself to us.” 

“I know we’re not prepared, believe me, I am more than aware of it, but you’ve seen the way he reacts around people, love. That is not normal or healthy behavior for a 15 year old; he should not flinch when he is approached unawares, he shouldn’t look scared when men stand too close to him, and he shouldn’t have nightmares so violent that his magic actively seeks to shield him even when he’s so deeply unconscious that he can’t even register four people bursting into his room and shouting. Yet this is what we’re been faced with, and it’s what we’ll have to deal with. So for Merlin’s sake Sev, please tell me you have some idea of what to do.”

The potions master moved towards his husband and cupped his face gently, looking him in the eyes. “You know that I have no more idea of how to go about this than you do Lucius, I may have been Head of House for years, but I haven’t ever dealt with a child quite like our Cerin. You know that abuse is extremely uncommon in the magical world, and I have been extremely fortunate in that none of my children have been abused, or if there were any issues they were fairly swiftly resolved. If what we suspect is true, then Cerin has been severely abused, and this was not a one time occurrence either.” 

Lucius frowned, his eyebrows drawing together in worry. “Don’t frown” Severus said teasingly, using one long finger to smooth away the wrinkles. “You’ll get wrinkles, and then I’ll be the one never hearing the end of it, with you complaining every other hour that your looks are fading. You blasted Malfoys and your vanity!”

“Yes, yes, I know I’m a vainglorious idiot, but now’s not the time. I can tell anyway that the path ahead will most not likely be smooth sailing from now on, and that our boys will be causing more wrinkles than my pride can properly handle.”   
“The question is what are we going to do? What’s our plan?”

“First of all one of us needs to go check on Draco and make sure that he’s all right, that it really is just a minor knock to the head and nothing more serious like a concussion. Then I’d suggest we talk to Narcissa and discuss what she has observed with Cerin. I’ve seen her observe him whenever we’ve all been together, and I’d bet good money that she’s also seen some worrying behavior.”

Lucius nodded in assent, and added his own thoughts. “After that one of us should stay in the room with him, although we should try and keep a good distance from him, as our presence often only seems to make him agitated. If he doesn’t awaken or improve within the next hour I suggest we contact Poppy and have her come immediately.”

The professor shook his head gently. “I don’t think Poppy will be necessary Luc, all his vitals seem normal apart from the occasional readings which seem to be blocked, but the interference seems to be stemming from his own magic, which most likely means that it’s nothing harmful. It might even be changes from his creature inheritance affecting the scan. Until he awakes we’ll be kept guessing, but once he does, we should try and have a serious conversation about his erratic behavior and the faulty scans.” 

Lucius moved to the chaise longue in the corner of the room, motioning for Severus to come join him, and wrapping an arm around his shoulders when the younger man sat next to him; lightly resting his chin on the other man’s head, and breathing in his heady sent of pine, parchment and ink.

“How do you think we should go about it? We don’t want to seem threatening or accusatory, if it is as we think and someone he’s been in contact with has been abusing or hurting him in some way; then we’ll need to reassure him that he’s not the in the wrong. That we won’t punish him for having concealed the information, and most importantly to try and get him to open up to us.”

Severus moved out of the comfort of his lover’s arms and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Turning away from Lucius he spoke softly.   
“How do we get him to trust us? He’s barely met you more than a handful of times in his life, and whenever he has you’ve normally been trying to harm him in some way. Whereas I on the other hand have only tried to humiliate him and render his life hell. Yes! this is the perfect basis for a trusting and loving father-son relationship.”

Snorting bitterly, Severus stood up and started pacing the room quickly, his tread light on the plush carpet, and Valerius tracking his movements curiously.

“Fine” admitted Lucius slowly not moving from his seat, but turning to face his husband “We may not have gotten off to the best of starts, but that doesn’t stop us from doing everything in our power to help him, love. If he has been abused we can find out who is responsible, make sure they are brought to justice for their crimes. We can help him heal. Even if we’re not the ones he turns to and we need to procure the help of a mind healer, then so be it! But we will do our best for our child Sev, you will do everything in your power to earn that boy’s trust back, and we will be there to support him through all the issues he is undoubtedly going through. And we can apologise! as many times as it takes to get through that notoriously thick head of his. We can be there for him everyday, until he understands that we won’t leave him. Not now and not ever.”

Severus closed his eyes wearily. “Do you think we should have Narcissa speak to him in our stead? He seems to be more comfortable with a female presence. Or does that make it seem like we don’t want to be the ones to be there for him?” 

“I think you’re overthinking this.” the blond chided mildly, taking Severus’ hand as he stalked past once again, pulling him towards him and wrapping his arms around his wiast. “We can wait here until he regains consciousness and then inform him that we’d like to have a talk about a few things. Make sure that he’s aware that he’s not in any trouble and that he doesn’t have to disclose anything to us if he’s not comfortable. We can also give him the option of speaking to either one of us, or to Narcissa. In the event that he’s reluctant to speak to any of us, we could offer to bring in an impartial third party in the form of a mind healer, if he so wished. But from what I’ve gathered with Cerin, he doesn’t like to talk to strangers.” 

“His aversion to strangers would make sense given his dealings with the press, and the suspected abuse. My only concern is if he can’t explain to us why his health scans are distorted or seem to be covering up some injury or other, then it may be necessary to intervene and call Madame Pomfrey. However I wouldn’t want to betray his trust, if he had even confided such information to us in the first place.” 

The dark haired man acquiesced wearily. “While it’s true that we should try and retain his trust, his immediate health should also be of utmost importance. If he’s been running around injured all this time, then it needs to be addressed.”

Silver eyes met brown as they had finally laid out a plan of what they had to do, and sought to accomplish. Lucius stood up gracefully albeit stiffly after the commotion of the last few days.

“I’ll go check on Narcissa and our little Dragon. If he’s healed I’ll appraise Narcissa of the situation and our plan. You stay here and watch over him Sev, guard him well, although I’m sure nothing untoward will happen in my hopefully brief abscence. Send me a patronus if he wakes before I get the chance to come back.”

With those parting words and a sweet kiss that was far too short for either of the men’s liking he swept off into the hall, blond hair trailing behind him elegantly, glinting under the light of the moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm sorry it's been so long. There really is no excuse, and I'm sorry I left you all waiting for ages. This fic was incredibly personal, and after a while I realised that it wasn't doing me any good to be writing it (yes I do realise this sounds like an excuse). However I'm back now, and I will try my best to update more regularly. I realise that my writing will probably have changed quite a bit, and the direction I plan to take this has changed a bit, but i hope you still enjoy my work. Many thanks, Amaryllis Fay.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Please review and tell me what you think, is this story worth continuing? Thank you for reading!!


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